The Dragonborn Epic, Vol 3: Dawnguard
by GamerDragon13
Summary: In the wake of the Civil War and Alduin's path of destruction, the vampires of the Volkihar clan have emerged from darkness, seeking the powers of Elder Scrolls to bring about a time of never ending darkness. Guiding them to one is a violet meteor. Now Belinda and friends must help raise the Dawnguard to stop the ancient and evil vampire: Harkon Volkihar.
1. Chapter 1: 'Walking Disasters

_Zendikar_

Ashen wastes spanned far beyond view, deafeningly silent and desolate. There was no life, no sound of song birds or hissing of jungle serpents that once resided here. Here was Bala Ged: A dead land whose silence was endless, except for the nauseating, ungodly sound of the Eldrazi. By now, the eldritch abominations were chasing the still living across the world, consuming all life they touched. Then, in the midst of the ashes, life just appeared from nowhere in the form of two women.

Belinda R. Scale appeared in a swirl of sparkling, gemstone colors. Now almost 18, she was basically done growing at five feet and six inches with a 130lbs hourglass figure. She had soft ivory skin with a light pink tint to her cheeks, magenta lips, a beauty mark on her left cheekbone, and scars marring her back and tattoos of dragons covering the ones on her right arm. The right ring finger had been cut off and her hand was scarred from where a knife had been run through the palm. Her hair was crow black with poofy bangs over her forehead and two French braids starting above her ears, meeting in the back, and woven into a larger braid down her back. She had almond-shaped eyes with thick lashes framing the amethyst irises that were catlike due to the slit pupils. She dressed in a purple tunic with a Queen Anne neckline and silver embroidery along the hems and neckline, a black leather corset with a purple satin ribbon and side panels adorned with purple steel scales, black leggings, black leather boots, bracers, and a belt with a simple pouch; and an amethyst sphere hanging on a beaded chain, each bead a different gemstone. She was armed with a beautiful scimitar of carved, elven steel from a world distant from Zendikar, a sword named Dragonbane.

Dione Desidenius appeared in a burst of crimson, midnight blue, and a deep violet. Twenty-seven years old, she was a slim woman, standing only two inches taller than her companion. She was half-Human, half-Dark Elf from the plane of Nirn, ears short with a rounded point adorned; silvery skin with a bluish tint and lilac lips and cheeks; lilac eyes, and boyishly-short, tidy, snowy colored hair. Her own scars were mostly on her fingers from years of wielding magic, archery, her failures at alchemy, and the one time she botched a job, where a lockpick had snapped back and cut her forefinger. How did that even happen?! She wore leather armor with many belts and pouches that carried potions, alchemical ingredients, her thieving tools, various kits for repairing things, a wet stone for her sword, twine, and so on. The armor itself consisted of a light grey, sleeveless vest, medium grey trousers, and dark grey boots, gloves, and everything else, including the hood. The only jewelry she wore was a stylized nightingale pendant on a silver chain. The pendant matched the guard of her sword, which was a titanium blade with a wooden, dark grey handle and gemstone pommel. It was lightweight but could slice wood with enough practice. She also had a long bow made from similar wood to that of her sword's hilt and matching arrows tipped with dark heads.

Belinda took a look around, examining their surroundings. The yellow-grey sky and the ground covered in ash. She knelt done and dug for like, but the ash was deep. No grass, no dirt, no bugs or worms, no…nothing. Even the ash felt wrong. It felt coarse like sand but it wasn't…the right size. She rubbed it between her hands. Felt like sand, just on a much smaller scale. She then thought about it, considered it heavily, knew she would regret it, and licked it. She quickly spat it out and shook her hands. Dione raised a brow at her.

"Why did you lick it then?" she asked, voice soft and smooth like honey.

"Because I have the mentality of a five-year-old sometimes," Belinda answered, cringing. Her voice was unintentionally loud and a bit childlike. "Tasted like a really bad mix of salt and ashes." She grabbed her water bottle and tried to erase the flavor from her mouth.

Dione knelt, brushing her hand across the salt? Ash? Sand? "But it's neither salt nor ash?" she questioned, taking a handful before letting it fall from her hand. _There's no wind,_ she realized as the substance fell straight to the ground. She tilted her ears forward to hear better: Silence. A sick feeling welled in her gut and she rose. She listened closer.

Belinda then saw something by a pile of the substance and went over. She found a body. A tall, grown male with alabaster skin and white hair. Tendrils hung off his chin. He wore leathers and had a red ribbon around one arm. She knelt and checked him. Dead only a few hours. His body still contained magic. She reached pulled the threads. Lithomancy. She smiled and stored it in the howlite bead. That was a magic she had wanted in her arsenal for some time. However, something was wrong. In a place so devoid of life, why was this body still here, full of magic?

"What is he?" Dione asked, moving closer to see what her companion had found.

"Some subhuman," Belinda answered. "Hmm, assuming that this is his natural skin color and that his hair was always white…" She thought about it. She knew the name of the race. It was on the tip of her tongue. Something beginning with K? Oh! "He's a Kor!" She turned back to Dione. "They're a race native to Zendikar, though they can be found on a few other planes like Dominaria, but Dominaria has a little bit of everything thrown in there."

Dione nodded, but looking around, she noticed something else. Here was a dead body alone in a wasteland with no life or magic. So, why weren't there others? "Um, Belinda…"

"Yeah?"

"How did he die?" Dione asked.

Belinda looked down. "Huh…There's nothing obvious." She looked closely. "Bruising on the neck, but it doesn't look like he was strangled by hand. Something was wrapped around his neck."

"Why aren't there other bodies? Why is this one just right here alone?" Dione asked.

Belinda froze. Why weren't there any other bodies? Slowly and stiffly, she glanced around. "Oh crap…" she muttered. This was a trap.

What looked to have been a tree once exploded and a monstrosity came at them with long, bony arms, slithering on tendrils in blues and pinks. Its face was a blank, bony mask. It was tall as a tree. Belinda and Dione paled, and then literally ran for the hills.

"Fucky, fucky, fucky, fucky, fucky, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Belinda screamed as she ran.

"What is that?! Your favorite word or something?!" Dione asked.

"HA!" Belinda snapped. She jumped over something, probably a fallen tree. Not anymore at least. She took a glance over her shoulder as the thing followed at a surprising speed. It was dragging itself on its bony hands, and the tendrils speed to propel it, though that seem illogical considering they weren't underwater. Clearly, this monster was meant to defy logical, especially with the ungodly sounds it made. She wanted to throw up as she heard the noises. It was so loud and nauseating. But still she ran.

"What is that thing?!" Dione asked, forcing Belinda to look back to the faster woman ahead of her.

"I don't know; Lucien never described these things!" she responded.

"Then we need to Planeswalk!" Dione shouted.

"We're too stressed," Belinda called back. "If we 'walk now we'll just end up tossing ourselves around the eternities and probably to someplace worse!"

They came to a dead end: A sheer, ninety degree cliff that couldn't be climbed down. Dione knew. Her eyes were sharp and keen as she looked over the edge. There were no safe way to climb down, and the fall was too great to survive. She looked back to the charging abomination.

"Seems we're out of choices though," she pointed out. She took a deep breath and let go.

Belinda closed her eyes and fell through the ground. When she opened them, soundless wind ripped at her. Her senses heard, saw, felt, tastes, smelled, and sensed everything and nothing. The sound of dragons bellowing beside her, the crash of a wave almost knocking her down, surrounded by trees, and so much more! She pushed through something and emerged on the other side…Underwater?!

* * *

 _Hadroia_

There was no warning, and water quickly filled her lungs. She closed her mouth and floated upward. She followed the direction she had been floating and swam hard. Her eyes stung from the salt water, her lungs burned, and felt her vision starting to go dark until…

She broke the surface, coughing up water and trying to not go back under. She saw something coming toward her through her blurred vision. She kicked her legs to stay afloat until hands grabbed her and pulled on onto the small boat. She panted, coughing more water. She flopped to the floor, groaning. Someone came and rolled her onto her back. They poured clean water in her eyes, clearing around the salt water and her vision. She blinked, and the sight of her friend and fellow Planeswalker, the Merfolk Zephyr came into view.

"Zephyr?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my home, and it seems my timing is impeccable," the Merfolk answered. He was tall and lanky, not an unusual trait for Merfolk universally, with sleek blue skin and fins on his forearms and calves as well as his long, Elf-like ears. His eyes were a perfect ocean blue and he had something not commonly seen in Merfolk across the Multiverse: Hair. He had a full head of inky black hair that fell to his waist with two strands crimped just above his rounded chin. He wore a breezy, pale blue shirt with puffy sleeves that ended just above his elbows, black trousers that fell to his knees, and brown leather bracers and gauntlets that were made to get in the way of his fins. He was good looking. "We hauled Dione in a moment ago."

Belinda turned, seeing her friend soaked and smelling like fish. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"No," Dione answered coldly. She was not amused. "Did we piss off some insane god or something today? Or is this one of those times where we really shouldn't have gotten out of bed today?"

Something hit the boat, causing it to rock.

"I'm guessing this is one of those times where we really shouldn't have gotten out of bed today," Belinda answered.

A massive creature emerged from the water, growling and glaring with yellow eyes.

"Huh, a sea dragon," Zephyr muttered. "You almost never see them this close to the surface."

The sea dragon opened its mouth and dove right at the much smaller boat. Everyone screamed and abandoned ship. Zephyr grabbed Belinda and Dione and created bubbles. He quickly plopped them over their heads and led them into the water. They narrowly evaded the dragon and swam. He took their hands and moved swiftly. They arrived at a group of trees that grew well above the surface of the water. The women wondered how they had missed that. The trees were pale underwater, with fruits that glowed to illuminate the murky green water. Fish darted around and they saw what looked like wolves swimming. Belinda stopped and stared. Seadogs? Sea wolves? This change relatively recent. They had evolved from actual wolves while maintaining their nature. It was incredible to see, especially when a fish that evolved from a deer swam by! The sea wolves gave chase. Zephyr came and towed Belinda along.

"So, this world is seventy-five percent underwater?" Belinda asked.

"More like eighty percent," Zephyr answered.

"But it wasn't always like this?" Belinda asked, watching more wildlife swim by.

"The city elder was there when the lands sank," Zephyr answered. "A thousand years ago, to World Walkers arrived here and devastated the lands. The one felt grief and warned the people to the tops of trees and mountains while he drowned most of the world save it from his quarry's damage. Life continued and grew to adapt to the new way of life. My grandmother is still an elf. I am part of the generation of elves born fully as Merfolk."

Belinda nodded. Elves evolved fast due to their long lives. They swam until they reached a village that started on the ground and wound its way above water. Zephyr led them above the surface to the houses grown from the tree. They climbed a latter onto a deck. Elves, Humans, Merfolk, and Aven looked their way as Zephyr pulled the women up and popped the bubbles around their heads.

"Can you take us some place to get fresh clothes?" Belinda asked. "The leather is wet and will get ruined…"

Zephyr nodded and led them to a nice house where an Elven woman with grey hair and blue eyes wove a basket. Another Elf who looked more like a Merfolk was working with her. Merfolk children of Elven descent played. When Zephyr walked in, the children smiled brightly.

"Zephyr!" the cheered, running over and tackle-hugging him to the ground.

"Hey brats!" he greeted with a smile.

"Tell us a story!"

"Where did you go this time?!"

"Did you see any Dragons?!"

"Angels! Tell us about the Angels!"

"How long are you staying this time?!"

"Children!" one of the women snapped. "Get off your brother and let him breathe. Besides, this is not how we behave around guests."

The children now noticed the two wet women standing in the doorway. The young woman stood and came over. "Come. Let's get you two dry and in fresh clothes." She led them to another room.

* * *

 _Theros_

It was the next day after a good night's sleep when Belinda and Dione realized just how exhausted they really were. The leathers were dried and thankfully undamaged. Zephyr led them to them to the shipyard where they could safely Planeswalk. Now they were somewhere else not home. Dione looked around, confused.

"Um, where are we?" she asked before Hell broke loose.

Belinda was into a tree, certain she had broken her right arm. Then again, she used to her right arm taking the blunt of abuse. Dione turned and saw a giant, one larger than the ones back home. Parts of its body seemed to be made of the night sky. It turned to stomp on her and she bolted out of the way. She ran, drawing her bow once at a safe enough distance and pulled out an arrow.

"Nocturnal, guide my arrow," she whispered, and launched the arrow into the giant's face. It pierced its eye.

The giant stopped dead in its tracked, trying to remove the arrow by only embedding it further in. A strange substance leaked from its eye. It settled for closing the wounded eye and came after Dione.

"NOOOOOPE!" she shouted, running away. She stopped at the edge of a forest where folk with the upper body of Humans and the lower body of horses, well, more like cows, emerged. They were armed with bows and spears. They galloped past Dione, attacking the giant. _Ce-Cen-Centaurs? That's what Lucien called them, right?_ Belinda came over, cradling her now-broken arm.

"So, yesterday we get nearly eaten twice and this day was supposed to be better?" she wondered. "Let's get to Ravnica and see Emmara about this."

"Right," Dione agreed.

They shimmered out of existence once again…

* * *

 _Kaladesh_

They arrived in the middle of a busy street, almost got run over by…cars? Belinda looked around once they were safely on the sidewalk. Dione was confused. This didn't feel like Ravnica. Something compelled her to look up. The sky was so vibrant and blue, but the clouds took strange, spiral formations. It seemed to be a theme here, with beautiful brass filigree on the buildings and machines. Sharp-beaked metal things hovered through the air and machine people and animals walked among Humans, Elves, Vedalken, Aetherborn, and Dwarves, all dressed fancy and in bright colors. A lot of folk wore goggles and gloves and carried tools or scrap. Dione felt extremely plain.

"This is Kaladesh," Belinda reported. "This is where Aetherborn exists."

Dione looked and saw others like their friend Astral back home. Like Astral, there was a turquoise glow to them and favored finery. Of course, Dione's idea of finery was Kaladesh's idea is plain. This didn't help with making her feel more than plain. "Nice place but I feel underdressed," she pointed out. She looked to Belinda, who wore brighter clothes, though not by much. It was still her travel gear.

"I know right?" Belinda responded. "Kaladesh is so bright and beautiful, and here we are marring the landscape."

Dione snorted. "Should we leave?" she asked.

"Let's. After some food though. Even as Planeswalkers, 'walking is a pain in the ass," Belinda answered, stomach growling.

"But we have no currency from Kaladesh," Dione pointed out.

"We don't, but Lucien does," Belinda assured her. She reached into her belt pouch and took out a turquoise wallet with a swirling pattern on it. The pattern was carefully painted a brass color with a brass zipper. She held the wallet in her left hand and pulled the zipper open with

"Lucien has currencies for different planes?" Dione asked, raising a brow.

"He says it's important to be well off on various planes," Belinda answered, making sure they had enough for a meal. "So, let's go get some food from one of the venders." She closed the wallet and passed it to Dione so she could put together a makeshift sling for her arm.

* * *

 _Ravnica_

Stomachs full, the two Planeswalked to Ravnica. It was large, bustling plane, never quiet with towering buildings. It was more angles than curves, and their people's idea of finery was relatively the same as Dione's. So here, they didn't quite stick out like on Kaladesh. They 'walked into the middle of an important landmark with nine pillars bearing the symbols of nine guilds. Dione was told there had been ten.

"Belinda, if there's ten guilds, why do I only see nine pillars?" Dione asked, looking around.

"That's because House Dimir is Ravnica's most poorly kept secret," Belinda answered, arm resting in a sling. "Up until the dissolution of the Guildpact, Planeswalkers couldn't come here. Lucien said he had only been here once before the Guildpact. A couple decades ago, he came back and met Emmara soon after. Though by then the guilds were starting to kind of collapse without the Guildpact. They still stayed, but were significantly weaker. The reason the Guildpact was dissolved was because House Dimir was publicly exposed and acknowledged, which found an important loophole, and long story short, Ravnica properly rejoined the Multiverse and Planeswalkers were coming and going as well as being born here."

"You mean the Guildpact prevented their birth here?" Dione asked, shocked. "A contract was that powerful that it prevented the births of something potentially stronger than it? Who the Hell had that kind of power?!"

"An Old 'Walker," Belinda answered, starting to walk toward Vitu Ghazi. "Azor I was a powerful law mage not originally from Ravnica. According to Lucien, he gave up quite a bit to cut Ravnica off from the Multiverse."

"Aether was still coming in though, right?" Dione asked.

"Somehow," Belinda answered, "though much less. Enough less so that Planeswalkers couldn't be born and made certain beings rarer and weaker."

They finally arrived at the gates of Vitu Ghazi where a snake-like being stood guard. She was female with a cobra head with a long, serpentine body. That made Belinda pause. Cobra-headed Nagas on Ravnica? Ravnica had Nagas sure, but they were in the Simic Combine and Golgari Swarm, and their bodies were thicker and their heads were more like other types of snakes. This Naga's unusual appearance on Ravnica made Belinda peer deeper, and she found a Spark. That made sense. This Naga was a Planeswalker, and likely fell in with the Selesnya Conclave because of something from home. The serpentine woman was an emerald green color with a soft white front. She wore green and white with shining armor and a tabard bearing the crest of the Selesnya Conclave.

"Welcome," the Naga Planeswalker greeted.

"Hi, we're here to see Emmara Tandris," Belinda responded.

"She is in council with Trostani," the Naga told them. "I can take you to her home here in Vitu Ghazi in a moment when my relief arrives, but first: Why do you wish to see her?"

"My arm is broken and she healed me before," Belinda answered.

"Very well. Please wait."

"Thank you," Belinda told her.

They waited a bit. The relief, a Centaur and an Elf, arrived soon after to relieve the Naga and the Human that had guarded the entrance. The Naga led them to the cottage where Emmara resided. The Naga slithered ahead of them while Belinda leaned in to whisper to Dione.

"Planeswalker," she told her companion. "She's also a Druid."

"Impressive," Dione muttered, and they soon arrived at the cottage.

"So, where are you from?" Belinda asked the Naga.

"Oh, around," she answered, blinking.

"Around Ravnica or around the Multiverse?" Belinda asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're a Planeswalker."

"I…Don't know what…You're talking about!"

"Relax, you're among friends," Belinda assured. "I'm not Ravnican either. I'm from Earth. Yeah, I know. Stupid name, right? Which is why I nicknamed it Terrestial. Much more interesting."

"And I'm from Nirn," Dione pointed out.

"Oh. I'm from Amonkhet," the Naga told them. "I'm Vera, formerly a Druid who served Rhonas and Oketra. I left when I learned my life on Amonkhet was a lie. Then I found the Selesnya here on Ravnica, who represent the strength and solidarity I loved about my gods."

"Amonkhet? I've never heard of it," Belinda pointed out. "I should make a note to go there some time."

"You won't find the vacation spot you're hoping for," Vera warned. "Nothing but wasteland and wasted potential. Damn the God-Pharaoh, may his return never come and if he does, may someone be found worthy to strike him down." It sounded like a different form of an old mantra she had repeated to herself for years.

Belinda and Dione exchanged glances. "God-Pharaoh?" Dione asked. She was always inquisitive about new terms and learning about various worlds and customs.

"His name is Nicol Bolas," Vera answered.

"Ah, the oversized leather handbag," Belinda joked.

Old habits clearly die hard because Vera gave her the sort of look a zealot would give a heretic. Belinda burst out laughed and Dione snorted and tried to stifle her giggles. Vera relaxed a bit. She remembered she was on Ravnica and not Amonkhet. She managed a chuckle, forked tongue flicking out. She was safe from the wrath of her gods and the fanatical residents of her old home.

"But yeah, oversized leather handbag sounds just about right," Belinda pointed out.

"Vera?" called a soft, sweet voice. The woman that approached now was a tall, blond elf in a beautiful. This was Emmara Tandris.

"Miss Tandris, these visitors have come for healing," Vera responded, a bit shyly and bowing lowly. She was still unused to the customs of Ravnica and treated those of higher rank than her with utmost respect. Despite leaving everything behind, her discipline still stuck.

"Relax, Vera," Emmara said, and the Naga did so. The Elf then turned to Belinda and Dione. "Rakdos again?" she asked them, seeing Belinda's broken arm.

"Eh, Giant actually," Belinda pointed out. "I guess maybe. I didn't get much time between being kicked and hitting a wall to see if it was Boros or Gateless or worse."

Emmara sighed. "You two have a genius for trouble, you know that right?" she asked. "Anyway, come inside and we'll get your arm taken care of." She unlocked her front door, opening it. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You are friends with Lucien after all…"


	2. Chapter 2: Recruitment

_Whiterun, Whiterun Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 27_ _th_ _of Last Seed, 4E202_

The anniversary of Emperor Uriel Septim VII's death. Belinda, along with the help of her good friend, the Lynx Planeswalker and Telekinetic Lucien Nightmist, the Blades Lore Master Esbern, and the Lycanthrope Companion Vilkas, was able to find a connection between her and Uriel Septim. Of course, that wasn't easy, considering Belinda's ancestors on one side of the family was spread across the Multiverse because multiple members of her family were in fact Planeswalkers. But her great-great-great-great-grandmother was the Hero of Kvatch and her child was a Planeswalker who settled on Earth and planted roots there and the line then led to Belinda. The Hero of Kvatch was the descendant of a Planeswalker who planted roots on Nirn sometime before the Imperial Interregnum after the Reman line died. That Planeswalker, an Elf named Sigileth was the descendant of Amanisa Dragonspeaker. It was annoying and complicated and had required some research. But when it all came down to it, she was the descendant of Martin Septim and that meant she could claim the throne if she so chose. Not that she wanted or cared to, and she was a little more concerned about being the reincarnation of Amanisa Dragonspeaker while being like the millionth great-granddaughter of her. Logic?! What's that?!

"Of course she would be reborn into her own bloodline," Belinda groaned with exasperation as she flopped onto her bed. The cushion upon which her purple dragonet Spyro rested bounced a little, making him look at her in mock offense. "It's her blood! And I am a combination of all fuckish things from across the Multiverse! Got a bunch of Nord, Cyrodiilic, Breton, and Dunmer in me! Middle Earth High Elf! Dragon! Seriously, what the Hell even?!"

Lucien watched her with amusement from his seat in the chair beside the bedroom door. His fur was black with silver markings in elegant swirls, large, silvery paws; and a long, fluffy tail unusual to that of a Lynx, and more similar to that of a Maine Coon. His body was quite strong, able to crush the skull of a grown man under his large paws. His eyes were a soft teal, which matched his favorite velveteen cloak that he often wore when out. Like Belinda, he was a Planeswalker, but unlike Belinda, he was a telekinetic, able to move objects with his mind. He had also mastered illusion magic and was decent telepath. He had the stealth of a hunter, the strength of a warrior, and mind of an ancient mage. He was dangerous, but, as Belinda quickly found, he was arrogant, pretentious, and stuck up. Typical cat traits, but was prone to melancholy and would provide sage advice. Usually, that's when he started drinking and Belinda was grateful that he was an Old 'Walker full of ancient Elven magic and whatever the Hell else he had access to on his home plane.

 _Because, oh I don't know, ALCOHOL WOULD KILL A CAT?!_ Belinda had once reflected. So, too, would onions, garlic, peppers, grapes, and most other stuff she had seen Lucien put in his mouth. She absentmindedly scratched Spyro between his stubby little horns.

"Anyway, your birthday is coming up fast," Lucien pointed out, tail curling up around his front paws. He was capable of both physical and mental speech. Most of the time he simply spoke plainly. It amused Belinda when people got freaked out by it. She was amused by some of the dumbest things.

"Yeah," Belinda sighed, staring at the ceiling. _Eighteen,_ she thought. _About freaking time._ Now she would officially be an adult. However, she didn't feel any different. She had been an adult for years now, something natural to being a Planeswalker, some of them anyway. _"You have to be responsible for your actions, especially since they can change worlds and alter the courses of histories,"_ her first mentor, a male half-Angel named Karr Ivorring, had told her after her Spark ignited. She rolled onto her side and looked at Lucien. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed. "You awake still?"

No response. He fell asleep. Belinda sighed and got up, leaving her bedroom for Lucien and Spyro to sleep and heading to the ground floor of Breezehome, her house in the proud city of Whiterun, in the center of Whiterun Hold in the center of beautiful Skyrim on the northern part of the continent Tamriel on the world of Nirn. After a year now, Belinda called this place home. She loved it here, well, most of the time. There was adventure, beauty, and she could live a great life. She didn't live alone, if Lucien was any indication. Dione came and went as she pleased, though right now her presence was required in Riften to run the Thieves Guild. There was also Belinda's Housecarl Lydia who occupied the other room upstairs and guarded the house and the Aetherborn Astral whose room was across from Lucien's down in the basement, though the latter was out shopping. Despite the fact Astral wanted to change the world, some things about Aetherborn was universal: A love of life and fine things. Astral's plan was to slay villainous people by draining the life force and giving it to the sick and wounded, and to use the wealth they would acquire from various bandit dens to build hospitals. It was noble, especially since Tamriel needed better facilities for the sick and wounded. The temples could only do so much to help and weren't sterile places to attend to the sick and wounded.

Belinda went to the cabinets and examined what she should eat. She was hungry, and wanted something quick and easy, or maybe one of the pastries she had bought at the market the other day…She went to the pantry and smiled. The lavender shortbread cookies she had made were still there. She grabbed the jar and pulled out half a dozen and sat down to eat them. As she munched on a cookie, her eyes drifted to her lower right arm. The arm and hand were scarred. Her right hand was missing the right finger and had scar on the back and palm where she had been pinned to a wall with a dagger. The hand was still stiff from that. There were scars on her lower armed where a thorny vine from a Saporling had grabbed her, but they had been covered up by beautiful tattoos of three Dragons. The black one was Alduin the World Eater, her bitter enemy. The greyish one was her friend and teacher in the Way of the Voice Zeyiizyol, whose name was once Paarthurnax; he taught her how to Shout like a Dragon. And the red one was her friend Odahviing. Both he and Zeyiizyol had been honored when Belinda told them about the tattoo, and the latter had, in a way, cried when Belinda showed him the tattoo of his deceased brother Alduin. Alduin had been the first, and Zeyiizyol after him, but they were brothers. Despite the fact that Dragons supposedly could not feel love, there was a brotherly love and affection there.

The tattoos had hurt like a bitch, for lack of a better term. Belinda had forgotten that this world was still a long ways away from having tattoo guns like her world, so various needles and tools had been used to create the images and imbed the ink. She was sure the thorns stabbing and carving and cutting up her arm had hurt worse, but at the time she was high on adrenaline and rage and hadn't registered the pain or the fact she was dying what should have been a very painful death. So, she was grateful when another Planeswalker, a powerful healer named Eveline, showed up and saved her life. Belinda was then pulled from her thoughts by a knock on the door. She looked up. Astral and Lydia had their own keys, so it had to be someone else. She got up and went to the door.

"Who is it?" she asked. Given everything that happened in the last year, she had a reason to have a healthy dose of paranoia. People did want her dead after all.

"Grete," answered an accented, female voice that was a bit deep.

Belinda sighed and opened the door. "Hey Grete, how are you?" she greeted, smiling. She quickly took note of Grete's attire: Rusted, light iron plates studded to a leather tunic buckled close on the upper torso; leather pants, leather boots that reached her knees, and leather gauntlets with braces on the side. She still had the beautiful rapier she had won from a Thalmor soldier she had felled in battle months ago. Her copper hair was put up in a ponytail and her hazel eyes had become very stern. Belinda blinked. "What's with the outfit?" she asked.

"I joined up with the Dawnguard," Grete answered.

Belinda had heard rumors of the Dawnguard starting back up out in the Rift Hold from merchants coming from Riften. They were recruiting members, but the leader was supposedly a hardass. However, there were stories coming in about increased vampire attacks. "Vampire hunters, right?" she asked.

Grete nodded. "And I've come to recruit you."

"Really?" Belinda asked.

"Isran needs good warriors, and I told him you're one of the best," Grete answered. "So he sent me to convince you to join."

"I'm game," Belinda told her.

"That was…easy," Grete muttered. "I expected you to be more reluctant to join, that you would want time to relax after the war."

"I expected the same of you," Belinda retorted. "But I guess neither of wanted to just sit down and rest after the war."

Grete nodded.

"Why don't you come in and I'll pour us some mead," Belinda offered.

"A little soft drink won't kill me, I suppose," Grete muttered, walking into the house and closing the door behind her. She noted the cookies on the table.

Belinda grabbed two tankards and went to a keg. After filling them up, she brought more cookies over. "So, how have you been?" she asked.

"Okay I guess," Grete answered. "I took Mother with me to Fort Dawnguard so she would have a safe place to stay while I'm out fighting vampires."

"Have you talked to Ralof as well?" Belinda asked.

"No; why do you ask?" Grete responded.

"The Dawnguard could use a healer, and Ralof has gotten much better," Belinda pointed out. "Thanks to Danica, Eveline, and Karliah, he can set a born, bring someone back from the brink, make a potion for just about every disease. In fact, he's be thinking about joining the Temple of Kynareth."

"Not a bad career choice," Grete commented. "Do you know where he's staying?"

"The Temple of Kynareth here in town."

"Think Astral, Lucien, or Dione would be interested?" Grete asked.

"Probably," Belinda answered as Astral entered Breezehome.

"Interested in what?" they asked, voice echoing.

"In joining the Dawnguard; we could use someone like you," Grete answered. Some part of her still didn't fully understand Astral's existence, but she had come to accept their presence.

"You know I am a vampire, right?" Astral asked, having heard about the Dawnguard themself.

"You are?" Grete responded, raising a brow.

"I don't consume blood like your typical vampire," Astral pointed out, joining them at the table. They folded their stony fingers and rested their chin upon them. "I drink life energy, which can still be fatal. I've been learning how to control it so I don't instantly kill people, much like how a vampire would have to learn how not to drink a person dry. That said, do not be so quick to judge a vampire, especially if they choose to be civilized. And of course, not everyone chooses to be what they are. I did not choose to be an essence drainer. I just am."

"The major difference between you and a blood drinking vampire is that you can't make other people Aetherborn though," Belinda pointed out, taking a sip of mead.

Grete nodded. She learned so much by being part of this circle of friends. Based on Belinda's customs and behavior, so unlike anything in Tamriel, Grete felt the young woman to be otherworldly. She had no idea how right she was. Lucien padded downstairs, Spyro perched and wobbling on his back. He was a light sleeper like any cat, but he could control whether or not he should wake. He did hear much when he slept.

"The Dawnguard is being reformed?" Lucien asked, moving close to Belinda so Spyro could climb onto her shoulders.

"Yes; I told the leader about you lot and he told me to recruit you if I can," Grete answered.

"You're a vampire hunter now? Suits you," Lucien commented. "It's just as well. Vampires are getting bold around here."

"Well, let us go pack some things and hit the road," Belinda said, standing. She went to the stairs.

"What about Dione?" Grete asked, turning slightly.

"She was called to Riften," Belinda answered, starting up the stairs. "We'll see if she's interested on the way to Fort Dawnguard. It's near Riften, correct?"

"Yeah, it is."

Belinda grabbed her canvas backpack and shoved in several pairs of undergarment and pads. She was bleeding again. Ugh! Groan! She packed a change of clothes and two extra pairs of pants, including her favorite pair of yoga pants and brown cargo pants. She added plenty of socks. She grabbed a few of her favorite books from back home, her notebook, and a pencil case and carefully placed them in the pouches that would work best. She changed, getting into her favorite outfit. The leather of her boots, bracers, and corset had been saved, thankfully. She donned her necklace and keychain of crystals. Her hair was already fixed up the way she liked it. She came downstairs and wrapped up food for the road, Spyro perched on her shoulder. Lucien and Astral came up from the basement, ready to go whenever Belinda and Grete were. Lucien wore a teal, velveteen cloak with slits on the hood so his ears could poke out with saddlebags over his back carrying books, scrolls, quills, ink, and an extra cloak in case something happened to the one he was wearing. He had a dresser full of similar cloaks, which made Belinda laughed. Astral dressed in a loose, white shirt and dark trousers, both looking clean and fine under a tunic of Skysteel plate armor with a turquoise hood that brought out their eyes, matching bracers and boots, and a belt holding a sword for defense. They seldom needed to use a sword. They had managed to move silently in heavy armor.

Lydia entered the house, dressed casually instead of wearing her steel armor. "Leaving again, my Thane?" she asked.

"Yep; hold down the fort until we get back…Whenever that'll be," Belinda answered.

They stepped out into the street. In late summer after the Dragon Crisis and Civil War, Whiterun looked as it should: A bustling hub full of merchants with stalls crammed wherever there was room. Arches of flowers and vines were raised between houses that hadn't been damaged during the Battle for Whiterun. Those houses that had been damaged were still being rebuilt. Statues and pillars of while horses were being built and raised and the wall was under repair. Still, merchants were content to come and sell their goods and boosts the city's economy to help with the repairs. Astral and Lucien drew up their hoods.

 _With all these merchants around, any number of vampires could have gotten in,_ Belinda thought, looking around.

"Should we get Sieghard?" Grete asked.

"No; his son was just born and he's planning on staying in or around Jorrvaskr for a while," Belinda answered. She sighed. "But he'll still want to know if I'm leaving the city for an extended period, so we may as well go see him. We'll grab Ralof on the way." She led the way through the crowds to Jorrvaskr, Mead Hall of the Companions.

"This place reminds me more of Rohan every day," Lucien commented, giving his feline smile.

Grete looked down at him. "What's Rohan?" she asked.

"An ancient place; don't worry about it," Lucien answered.

Grete sighed and looked ahead. _Mysterious as always,_ she thought. The Plains District Square was busy and full of people. Wenches from The Banner Mare were moving around, bringing samples of wine or mead to people. It was Ysolda's idea probably, to bring samples and entice people to come having food and drink at the inn. Speaking of whom…The young, lanky Nord woman with short brown hair and kind eyes came over to offer them samples.

"Hey Ysolda," Belinda greeted. "What do you have?"

"We have wine brought in the West Weald and some Black Briar from two years ago," Ysolda answered.

"I'll try the wine," Belinda stated, taking a little ceramic cup. She hated Black Briar. Tasted too bitter. She sipped it. "Very fruit," she commented. "Mild sweetness and not dry. Most red wines are dry, so I tend not to care for them. But this is nice and sweet, fruity, and moist."

Grete took a cup of wine and sipped. "This is good."

"Oooh, let me ty!" Lucien exclaimed, levitating a cup his mouth. "Ah! Most excellent and refreshing! The West Weald truly has some of the best wines!" He looked to Ysolda. "Would be a dear and fetch a bottle for me? I simply must have a bottle for the road!"

Ysolda giggled. "Would you like some cheesy meat pies to go with that?" she asked.

"Do you have some already made?" Lucien asked, eyes going wide.

"We do," Ysolda answered.

Lucien turned to the others. "I'll meet you all back here," he told them. "I must get me wine and meat pies!" He followed Ysolda to the inn.

"That cat is such a lush," Belinda commented, turning and heading up a flight of stone stairs into Whiterun's Wind District.

This place was more residential, containing the homes of a few of the local merchants, the wealthy, and the Temple of Kynareth and Jorrvaskr. It also had restored Gildergreen Tree, a tall, ancient, and beautiful tree crowned with flowers in all colors and apples in varying colors of red, yellow, and green. It was surrounded by painted and polished benches and a ring of flowing water. The temple priests were here, offering healing and guidance and the local beggars were here. Pilgrims of Kynareth came from far and wide to see the Gildergreen's beauty and taste its fruit.

They went first to the Temple of Kynareth were Ralof was healing a child who had scraped her knee. He looked to the others with a smile. "Armor and weapons? Going on an adventure?" he asked. He was wearing a dark green robe with a sky blue hood and wrap, the colors of the Goddess Kynareth. He was your stereotypical looking Nord: Tall, buff, blond hair, and blue eyes, but he had a kind, welcoming smile.

"Yeah; Grete came to recruit us for the Dawnguard," Belinda answered.

Ralof looked to Grete. She looked good in that armor. "Nice to see you again, Grete," he greeted.

"Likewise," Grete responded. "So: Are you interested. We're vampire hunters. We're pretty good in the warrior department. We could use a few healers."

Ralof took a moment to think. He had his duties here at the temple, but at the same time, he did crave a little adventure. So he said, "Sure; give me a moment to pack." He did so hurriedly.

They then left and went around the tree, heading up another flight of stone stairs to Jorrvaskr, which was a large hall built up and crowned with the ship that had originally brought the ancient Nord hero Ysgramor and his 500 Companions, the greatest and bravest warriors, mages, hunters, advisors, smiths, and his own brother, to Skyrim. In Whiterun, they had found the Skysteel Forge and found that it made steel stronger. The first Greymane, whom had been the greatest smith of the time, worked the forge and mastered steel, and the Greymane family had worked the Skysteel Forge since then.

"Good morning, Belinda," greeted a white-haired Nord half a decade her senior. This was Thorald Greymane, the youngest son of Eorlund and Fralia Greymane and the next in line to work the Skysteel Forge. After the Civil War, he and his older brother Avulstein deemed it safe enough to return to Whiterun. The elder brother was to be the next Jarl after old Vignar passed since he had no heirs of his own.

"Good morning Thorald," Belinda responded. "Is Sieghard inside?" she asked him.

"Aye," Thorald replied. "Can't stop fussing over his pup."

Belinda smiled. "Well, I need to tell him I'm heading out again to help the Dawnguard with the vampire issue."

"First dragons, then war, now vampires," Thorald groaned. "Will this ever end? The more superstitious lot are talking about it being the end times."

"Yeah, the world tends to do that a sometimes, I've noticed," Belinda pointed out. "Good thing there's level-headed folk like us who don't buy into the superstitious nonsense." _Of course, this world also isn't Innistrad,_ she thought, trying not to look amuse by the thought. _There, people almost always have reason to be superstitious._ Of course, she couldn't tell him that.

Thorald nodded and then hauled a cart of steel ingots up to the forge. Belinda, Grete, and Astral headed inside Jorrvaskr. Inside it was warm and homely, a massive hall with a large fire pit in the center surrounded by long tables that were currently clean, surprisingly. Usually the tables were covered in dishes and platters. Now that Belinda thought of it, it was also surprisingly quiet. She looked around and saw the 21-year-old Cyrodiilic woman Ria sitting at a table, reading.

"Ria? Where is everyone?" Belinda asked.

"Out back training or doing jobs," Ria answered, looking up from her book. "Aela wanted Jorrvaskr clean and quiet, for a change. It's actually nice, since it's quiet enough to read for once. I supposed it's because of little Kodlak that it's quiet."

"Right; I'm going to go see Sieghard, Aela, and Kodlak," Belinda pointed out. "I'm heading out and again and they'll want to know that I'm leaving for a bit."

Ria nodded and went back to her book. The others slipped downstairs to the living quarters. It was just straight ahead, past the barracks and Old Tilma's room and past the Circle's chambers. In the Harbinger's quarters, which were three rooms connected by a living space (it was clearly meant for the event of the Harbinger having a family). The living space was full of books and trophies from successful battles and hunts, and on the large rug in the center sat two adult Nords, both slightly taller than average. The man was Harbinger Sieghard Wolfson, who was 6'4" and over 200lbs of hard muscle and thick bones with a honey blond beard and shoulder length hair; sharp silver eyes, and tanned skin. It was a bit strange, seeing him without his armor and in casual clothes. The woman was Aela the Huntress, a tall, independent Nord woman who was still trying to kill the baby weight and get back in shape. She had long, wild auburn hair and the same silver eyes as her husband. She was dressed casually, which was also a bit strange to see. But, she never _ever_ wore a dress or skirt. Shirt and trousers for her.

"Hello Belinda," Sieghard greeted, giving her a smile.

"Hey Sieghard; hey Aela," Belinda responded softly. She crept over and knelt, looking down at the cute little infant boy. "Aww, he's so cute and pudgy." She looked to Sieghard and Aela, who had both become like parents to her at this point. "Can you two believe you made a baby?"

"Hardly," Sieghard answered sheepishly. "I keep thinking: I have a son. I never thought I'd have a son, let alone one so perfect."

"I always thought I'd have a daughter before a son," Aela pointed out.

Belinda nodded. The women of Aela's family had all been Companions for generations, including her mother. Aela was a fierce warrior, fighting with a shield and short sword and quick as lightning, but her specialty was archery. She was on par with Dione's mother in archery.

"So, you're heading off into danger I take it?" Sieghard asked.

"Yeah; Grete asked if I wanted to join the Dawnguard," Belinda answered. "So I said, 'Sure!'"

"What's the Dawnguard exactly?" Aela asked.

"Vampire hunters," Belinda answered.

"Alright, just be careful," Aela told her.

Belinda nodded.

"Dead serious about that too," Sieghard added, giving her a hard stare. "You come home safe and unharmed. And preferably not a vampire."

Belinda nodded again. She hugged them both, and they hugged back. Then she stood and followed Grete away. They met back up with Lucien with a pack full of meat pies and a bottle of wine. At the stables, they tacked up the horses and started away from the stable…


	3. Chapter 3: Fort Dawnguard

_Castle Volkihar, the Sea of Ghosts  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 27_ _th_ _of Last Seed, 4E202_

Harkon Volkihar was a Nord by birth, with think hair and a tall, powerful body. However, he was a vampire, old and even stronger than he had been so long ago. His hair was dark and his eyes were piercing red and he dressed in red, black, and gold finery. He could afford it. He was wealthy after all. On this night, he looked up at the night sky from the wall of his island castle, just off the coast of Haafingar Hold. The moons were beautiful and the sky was endless and littered with stars. But he was watching for the foretold star, the one that would reveal where his daughter Serena was hidden away with the Elder Scroll. A star burning blue…

The sky lit up, and Harkon looked up. Everyone in Skyrim likely saw it. It hurtled to the mountains near Dawnstar, crashing with a brilliant explosion. Too near the Vigilant of Stendarr in their little lodge. He would have to take care of them. He gathered his best and finest warriors and they gathered the Death Hounds. Some flew out, others took the boats with the hounds. But as one, they storm across the land to the Vigilant of Stendarr's headquarters, then to Dimhollow Crypt…

* * *

 _Riften, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 30_ _th_ _of Last Seed, 4E202_

Dione sat at her desk in the Thieves Guild Hall under the very streets of Riften. She was going over the ledger of what was in the vault. Money was pouring in. The vault was filling up with gold, gems, ingots, fine clothes, jewelry, fur…Hell, Delvin actually got the right furs this time! The last time he had overheard about a shipment of furs, it turned out to be firs, trees. Not that the wood didn't sell, just not for as much as furs would have. They were fine furs though: Cyrodiilic Mountain Lion, Great Forest Brown Bear, and West Weald Black Bear. Her attention was so focused on the ledge that she didn't notice someone had slipped behind her until she felt a hand grabbed buttocks.

"You're lucky I can tell when it's you," she pointed out.

She looked over her shoulder at her lover, fellow thief and Nightingale, and her second-in-command of the Thieves Guild: Brynjolf. He was a tall, handsome Nord man with dark red hair and charming green eyes. He gave her a smug, crooked grin and kissed her. Dione turned around fully and wrapped her arms around him. He grabbed her buttocks again, pulling her in. She ran her hands through his hair, which was clean and soft. _He bathed last night,_ she thought as she was lifted onto her desk. Brynjolf slipped his hand into her trousers and-.

"MY EYES!" screamed Belinda, making the couple jump. They glared at her. Belinda had entered the guildhall and had her hands over her eyes.

"How did you get in here?" Brynjolf asked, letting Dione stand.

Belinda folded her arms over her chest. "The door was opened and Karliah let me in," she answered. "I'm here to see if Dione wants to go on an adventure."

"After the last adventure? Hell no," Dione responded.

"Grete recruited me for the Dawnguard and wanted to know if you were interested," Belinda pointed out. "Basically, vampire hunting."

Dione thought about it. She admittedly wanted her life to quiet down a bit more. After the disastrous planeswalks, war, and fighting Alduin in Sovngarde. However, there was the matter of a vampire killing a couple merchants in Riften. Dione had taken care of it as Riften was her home and dead merchants were bad for business.

Brynjolf watched Dione's careful consideration. "What are you thinking Lass?" he asked.

"I could learn something about warding off vampires," she answered. "After all, Riften is our home, our territory, our place of business. Vampires have been getting irritating." That did bring something to mind though, but she would not ask in front Brynjolf. Her eyes wandered to look at him. She loved him so much, but there was a whole fraction of her life he was not privy to. She wanted him to love all of her, but she could not let him. Belinda had hammered it in that many could not handle the infinite truth. Dione was afraid Brynjolf would be one…

"Something wrong?" Belinda asked.

"No," Dione answered with a poker face and neutral voice. The look in her eyes though said, "I'll explain later."

"Right, so you game?" Belinda asked.

Dione grinned. "You bet."

"Awesome! I'll feel a little better someone is around that I know will have my back," Belinda pointed out. "I'll let you two get back to it then." She climbed out of the guildhall through the secret entrance.

Dione sighed and turned to Brynjolf. "Well, the peace was nice while it last," she commented.

"Aye, Lass," Brynjolf agreed, walking over with a smirk. He pulled Dione close and kissed her lilac lips.

Later that night, Belinda was sitting at a table in The Bee and Barb Inn with Grete, Lucien, and Astral. Spyro was draped over her shoulders, sleeping lightly while Lucien sat on the floor with his face in a bowl of grilled salmon. Grete drank a mug of plain mead along with her meal of grilled chicken and flame roasted beans and potatoes. Astral merely had a glass of wine in front of them, pretending to be "normal" and seem Human. They raised the glass and pretend to sip, only to discretely pour the contents into Lucien's strategically placed bowl. Belinda had the same thing as Grete. Dione entered the inn and spotted their table. She was over and sat with them, pushing her hood back. The waiter, a green-skinned Argonian named Talen-Jei.

"Greetings Miss Desidenius; the usual?" he asked.

"Yes please," Dione answered.

Talen-Jei went off to get Dione's meal. Dione was busy fixing her hair so that it looked tidy. Er. Belinda snickered, cutting off another piece of her chicken. Dione gave her a look. "You got something to say?" she snapped.

"Had fun?" Belinda responded.

Dione rolled her eyes. "Immature much?" she snapped.

"Very," Belinda replied, sipping her mead.

Talen-Jei brought Dione her food and drink: Venison stew and a glass of red wine. "Keerava makes good soup," she told her friends. "Vekel makes good food, but mostly grilled steaks. If I feel more like soup, I come here."

"Fair enough," Belinda commented. "Everyone has their own specialty when it comes to cooking. Carlotta bakes good bread for example, though I suppose that's because she's been doing it for so long." She took a bite of chicken. "Anyway, Dione, was there something you wanted to ask about?"

"Well, I don't know how to say this in front of Grete…" Dione muttered.

"I needed a refill anyway," Grete told her with a smile. She got up and went to the bar.

"Are there Planeswalkers that are Vampires?" Dione asked Belinda.

"I only know of one," Belinda answered. "Karr mentioned him to me years ago."

"Vampires cannot become Planeswalkers," Lucien pointed out, hopping onto Grete's chair. "Sorin Markov is an exception. Things that cannot become Planeswalkers: Artificial creatures that are manifestations of mana like Angels and Demons, automatons and Golems, and the Undead. There are many theories as to why these things cannot be, and Amanisa suggested it has to do with the soul, but there always seems to be a reason why it's not so, especially when there exceptions running around the Multiverse: A Demon, though he was once a man; Sorin Markov is a vampire, and a Golem named Karn, though, no one's heard from him in a few decades."

"How do you become an exception?" Dione asked.

"Like I said: No one knows for certain and Amanisa's theory is most likely," Lucien answered. "I was born different and was told I would be important. They were right." He saw Grete coming back and hopped off her chair as Belinda nodded.

Grete sat down. "Anyway, tomorrow we'll be arriving at For Dawnguard," she informed them. "I hope you're ready. Isran is a hardass."

* * *

 _Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 31_ _st_ _of Last Seed, 4E202_

Grete roused them early the following morning, just before dawn. Dione was already at main gate, waiting for them. They went to the stable and tacked up their horses, riding off to the cave entrance for Dayspring Canyon. A young Nord man was there, wearing the clothes of a farmer and armed only with an iron axe. He was excited to join the Dawnguard and do something meaningful with his life. Grete led them out to where they saw a great fortress at the far end of the canyon. Some of the group half-expected the fort to be in ruin. Apparently Isran had been working on restoring the place for some time. Dione wondered where he had gotten the money to pay for such an obviously expensive renovation. Then again, she was a thief and a dungeon diver. She knew that could be well-paying if you lived long enough to enjoy the benefits. Clearly, this Isran had lived well past long enough to reap the benefits of his adventuring.

"Impressive," she complimented.

"Agreed," Belinda added.

Grete led them up to the fort doors of the fort. Inside, it was surprisingly clean. The front hall was a circular area with the Dawnguard sigil carved into the stone floor, surrounded by grates over water. Lucien went and looked into the water. Sunstones, no doubt to burn vampires. Above was a glass ceiling which the sun shone through, no doubt giving the gems and water the power to light up. If Isran knew about it, as seemed likely, then this would be a… _ **SLAM!**_ The barred doors slammed shut, cutting off access from the rest of the fort. Lucien gave this Isran credit: He was fast. He looked up to the balcony above them, where a Redguard stood in front of a control panel. The Dawnguard was known to have had mechanics that knew a good deal about Dwarven machinery. Isran had to have known enough to get the right stuff running.

"So, which of you is the great Dragonborn warrior I've heard so much about?" asked the Redguard, his voice rough.

"Uh, that would be me, and my instincts are tell me that this is a trap," Belinda answered. "Of course, I also read a lot in my spare time, so this is definitely a trap."

"Grete mentioned you were a smartass," Isran grumbled, looking down. "I hope none of you are vampires. Otherwise, this will hurt. A lot."

He pressed another button, and light with the intensity of the sun flashed. Grete and Lucien had closed their eyes, knowing what had been coming. Belinda, Ralof, Dione, and the Nord, Agmaer jumped and covered their eyes in pain. Astral was unfazed. Spyro, thankfully, was asleep and huddled on Belinda's scarf.

"OW! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Belinda shouted. "THOSE ARE MY EYES YOU JUST DAMAGED!"

Dione rubbed her eyes. "What was that?" she demanded.

"Needed to make sure no vampires entered the fort," Isran answered.

"Ugh, you paranoid fuck," Belinda grumbled, rubbing the spots and pain from her eyes. She blinked until her vision focused and she looked up. "WHY DON'T YOU COME DOWN HERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!"

"I told you she would be pissed," Grete told Isran. "But nooooo, you insisted I didn't tell anyone a thing."

Isran actually chuckled, and opened the gates. He soon joined them in the front hall. He stood about two heads taller than Ralof, the tallest in the group, and looked down at Belinda. "You're not that impressive up close, kid."

"Oooh, pretend I care," Belinda responded, arms folded over her chest. She gave an annoyed eye roll. "I'll tell you what I tell every other asshole who's not impressed with me: I'm not here to please anyone. Not my fucking job." She and Isran exchanged glares, and the latter relaxed, though his idea of relaxed was Belinda's idea tense, and she wasn't relaxing a bit. Everyone knew then that the two were going to butt heads. A lot.

"Welcome to the Dawnguard, Dragonborn," Isran greeted. "You'll go a long way. For a little kid." Before Belinda could cuss him out, he turned to Dione. "Leader of the Thieves Guild and Archmage of Winterhold College. I hear you're one of the best archers in Skyrim. Can you use a crossbow?" he asked.

"Not yet, but I learn fast," Dione answered.

"Except for alchemy," Ralof pointed out with a smirk.

"Shut up, Ralof," Dione snapped.

"Well, what else are you good at beside archery?" Isran asked, looking Dione down.

"I am a Master in the Magical Schools of Conjuration, Alteration, and Destruction, I am a Master Enchanter, I can pick a lock in under twenty seconds, I can blend in with the shadows themselves, barter, and can fix my own gear," Dione answered. "My mother's made sure I could handle whatever the world threw at me."

"Grete said you can do something really impressive," Isran pointed out. "Impress me."

Dione held out her hand and formed arcane fire, ice, and lightning in her hands, fused together in a shimmering display of power and magic. She slammed her hands together to cancel the spell and then tried another. She combined a lightning, ice, and telekinesis spell and grappled up onto the balcony. Then she came back down in a bubble made from a ward, ice, and telekinesis spell. They watched. That was a new one!

"Belinda, throw a fireball," Dione ordered, ending the bubble spell.

Belinda charged a fire power, drawing power as she chanted the spell. Dione brought up a ward of fire and a Drain Magic spell. When Belinda threw the fireball, it was absorbed by the ward and gave Dione more mana. She released the spell. Isran looked at her, clearly trying not to look impressed. Secretly, he was. He had never seen magic quite like that before.

"Can you teach others to do that?" he asked.

"I can't," Dione answered. "Arcane Fusion is just something you're born with."

"Can you run a forge?" Isran asked. "You said you can repair your own gear."

"I know the basics," Dione answered. "My ma Hilda knows more. I can send for her to man the forge if you'd like. She's over in Riften with my mother Oriana and my mom Karliah."

"How many moms do you have?" Isran asked.

"My birth mother and my adopted moms," Dione answered. "They taught me everything I know. Ma is a smith and a warrior and Mother is a good merchant. Mom and my late dad are the ones where I inherited a lot of my skills from."

"Send for all of them then," Isran ordered, "they'll be helpful to the cause."

"I guess I'll send for my man as well," Dione muttered, heading out right then.

Isran moved to Ralof. "You look like a soldier."

"I was trained as a soldier," Ralof explained. "I fought for Ulfric Stormcloak, and Belinda guided me to my true calling as a healer. Dione's birth mother Karliah taught me alchemy, the high priestess of Kynareth in Whiterun taught me healing spells, and a natural healer taught me how to channel energies into other forms of healing. I've gotten really good in a few brief months."

"Good," Isran grunted, "and it's even better that you don't even need someone to keep you safe in a fight because of your soldier training." He stepped to young Agmaer, who was shuffling nervously. "What's your name, boy?" he asked.

" _Ten Septims he pisses himself,"_ Lucien said to Belinda telepathically. Belinda had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing.

" _Have some faith, asshole,"_ Belinda responded.

"I'm, uh…" Agmaer fell silent, feeling his hands get sweaty. "My name is Agmaer, Sir."

Isran raised a brow. "Do I look like a 'sir' to you, boy?" he asked. "I'm not a soldier like the rest of this lot you came with and it's not like you're joining the army."

"Yes si-. Yes, Isran," Agmaer yelped, almost cowering.

"Now…Farm boy, eh? What's your weapon?" Isran asked.

"Uh, my weapon?" Agmaer asked, grabbing his axe. "I mostly just use me pa's axe, and usually when the wolves were attacking the livestock. We had goats and chickens. I'm from Rorikstead."

"'My pa's axe…'" Isran repeated, looking annoyed. "Stendarr give me strength…"

"You need patience, not strength," Grete commented.

Isran huffed at her, and turned back to Agmaer. "Don't worry. I think we can make a Dawnguard out of you yet." Next he went to Astral. "Why are you hiding yourself?" he asked.

Astral raised their head and pushed back their hood. Isran and Agmaer took a step back, looking at them in shock. Grete smiled, struggling to keep herself composed. "Because, Dear, people think I am a Daedra. I assure you that it is not the case. I am an anomaly. I am raw magic power given life, form, and coherent thought. I am an Aetherborn. My kind may have existed thousands of years ago back when the Dwarves existed. It's hard to say."

"So…what can you do exactly?" Isran asked.

"I can drain life energy from living things," Astral answered. "I can use the energy to extend my life or heal others. I've been learning combat to defend myself."

"So, you're Astral? Guess I found out the part Grete was hiding," Isran muttered, giving the redhead an angry glare. "Did you hide this part from me to see if I would get scared?"

Grete gave a smug grin. "Trust me, seeing you take step back was hilarious," she told him. She had told Isran about Astral's strange ability and that they didn't have a gender, but was perfectly okay with being gendered if it made someone else comfortable. Astral was considerate of others.

"When did you become such an ass?" Isran asked.

"I spent six months hanging around these asses," Grete answered, pointing to the others.

"Right," Isran grumbled. Finally, he looked down at Lucien, who was licking his paw.

"I'm Lucien, yes I talk and I can talk in your mind as well, I can move things with my mind, I am highly educated, older than dirt, and I can whoop your ass so don't even try," Lucien introduced.

"He's also a pompous, arrogant, little shit," Belinda added. She looked to Isran. "Don't even try hiding the booze. He _will_ find it and get into it."

"Alcohol kills cats," Isran pointed out.

"Not this one," Belinda responded.

"Being older than dirt can build quite an immune system," Lucien chuckled.

"I warned you that inviting them was essentially inviting crazy into the Dawnguard," Grete told Isran. "But considering you've lived long enough to restore most of the fort, I think we have a nice, heaping helping of crazy."

"Grete!" someone called, and the redhead turned brown-haired and bearded Breton in blue-grey armor similar to hers.

"Celann! It's been a while!" Grete responded. She went over and the two hugged briefly.

"Got unhappy with the Vigilant too?" Celann asked, stepping back.

"I left not long after you and Isran," Grete answered. "Talos sent me a vision to join the Stormcloak army, and it was true. I take it you've seen my mother?"

"I have," Celann told her. "She's was cleaning this place when I arrived."

"I brought her here so she would be safe, not to be a maid," Grete sighed. She turned to the others. "I'll catch up with you lot later. I kind of want to catch up with Celann and then check on my mother." Belinda nodded and Grete went off with Celann.

That night, Grete's mother, Maren, had prepared venison and barely stew for the few members of the Dawnguard. Aside from Isran, Grete, and Celann, there was also an Orc named Durak. By then, Dione had returned with Karliah, Brynjolf, Hilda, and Oriana. Belinda looked around. _This is all of us then,_ she thought. _We have a long way to go before being taken seriously as a group of vampire hunters. At least we have a base, supplies, and headquarters. We just need numbers now…_ She looked down at the crossbow Isran had given her. It was heavy, clunky, and impractical to her. Then there were the bolts, which weren't as easy to make as regular arrows. _At least it looks cool,_ she thought. Maren came over and scooped a large ladleful of stew into her bowl. _We'll also need more cooks and servants to cook and keep the place clean, especially if we increase our numbers._

"Thank you, Maren," she said to Grete's mother. The woman nodded and moved on. She was mute, having not spoken since she was freed from Northwatch Keep along with Thorald. Grete had been trying with no success to get her to speak again.

Maren scooped stew into Grete's bowl, and gave her a brief hug. "Thanks Mom," Grete said, hugging back.

"Your mother is a fine cook," Celann pointed out.

Grete nodded. "Damn right and don't you forget it." She sighed. "This is kinda like old times: Us enjoying a meal in the dining hall."

"Talking about our latest hunt…"

"Except without Carcette to give us crap," Isran added, sitting across from Celann and beside Grete. "Always saying how we should be focusing our efforts more on the Daedra. I'm sorry, were we not the Vigilant of Stendarr? Whose enemies were more than Daedra?"

"Agreed," Grete responded. "Daedra and Werewolves honestly don't bother me like they used. Let's be realistic: Werewolves _can_ be productive members of society. And the Daedra and Undead? They're only a problem because people can be greedy and stupid. Granted, I won't hunt worshippers of Meridia or Azura because they actually care about their worshippers."

"A fair point," Celann agreed.

"But there's no such thing as a good vampire," Isran huffed.

"I find that invalid and offensive," Astral commented.

"Do you?" Isran asked.

"By technicality alone, I qualify as a vampire," Astral answered. "Sure, I'm not drinking blood or making others like me, but I can still kill a person." They sat back in their chair. "Perhaps the only reason you haven't seen a vampire who is a productive member of society is because you haven't tried looking for one yet."

"Hmph."

"But what do I know? I've only lived a few months," Astral said, sighing dramatically. "Be more like dear Grete."

"Thank you, Astral," Grete told him.


	4. Chapter 4: Dimhollow Crypt

_Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 1_ _st_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

Belinda was _not_ a morning person. So when the arguing near the barracks would not cease, there would be Hell to pay! She got out of bed, dressed in breezy trousers, an overly large shirt she was certain she had stolen from either Vilkas or Sieghard, and soft, fuzzy, purple socks. Her hair was a waist-length mess of tangles and her eyes were wild and angry. She grabbed her two pillows and stomped down to the entry hall. She didn't care who was arguing and why, but they were being too loud. And regardless of who started the fight, she was going to end it. _NOW!_

She entered the hall, her socks muffling her footfalls, and she hit both men over the heads with her pillows. One was Isran. The other was some man she didn't know. She glared at them angrily, and Isran glowered back. The stranger looked dumbstruck.

"Do you assholes mind keeping it down? I'm trying to sleep!" she snapped. She then turned and returned to her bed in the barracks. She grumbled as climbed onto her bunk and tried to resume sleeping.

Dione and Grete blinked at her, both having been woken by the same bickering. They shrugged it off and brushed their hair and got dressed. Astral entered after standing guard that night. They took one look in Belinda's direction and decided to leave her alone. Lucien roused from his spot at the fireplace and gave a brief shake to wake up. Only Spyro remained asleep, except he woke up real quick, hungry for food. Belinda groaned and got back up to feed him. He gobbled up the lightly cooked meat and settled on a pillow while everyone got ready for the day.

"Did anyone catch what the assbags were fighting about?" Belinda asked.

"Something about the Vigilant of Stendarr," Grete answered.

"His name is Vigilant Tolan," Astral explained. "He arrived an hour ago where his poor horse collapsed. I took care of the poor steed and stabled him. He'll be alright."

"Good," Belinda sighed. "How many days did you lose?" she asked.

"Just one," Astral answered. "Animals are quite different from humanoids."

"The souls are different," Lucien told them. He stretched and put on his cloak. "Now, let us eat breakfast. I'm quite hungry." He left the barracks and went to the dining hall.

They ate in silence until Isran walked in with Vigilant Tolan, a tall, bald Nord with thick, blond sideburns. He dressed in robe with steel plate gauntlets, boots, and pauldrons and wore an amulet of Stendarr around his neck. He was armed with a silver-blade battle axe that was enchanted to repel and slay the undead. Grete and Celann looked up at him.

"Been a while, Tolan," Grete commented.

"Indeed," Tolan responded.

"So what happened?" Grete asked. "Astral said you nearly killed your horse to get here."

"The vampires…They came in the night and killed everyone and destroyed the hall," Tolan answered. "I barely escaped them and came here. I think they went up to Dimhollow Cave."

Grete raised a brow. "Dimhollow? Why there?" She, Celann, and Isran had once gone there when they were initiates. There had been a gargoyle guarding the place and it attacked them. They dispatched the thing, though it had left gashes on Celann's back.

"A powerful vampire artifact," Lucien answered.

"Is that cat talking?" Tolan asked.

"I'm a lynx, idiot," Lucien snapped, "and don't interrupt me again!" He cleared his throat. "A few thousand years ago when Amanisa and I came to this place, we were met by an ancient vampire. She wanted to hide something precious to her in Dimhollow. That precious something was to remain there, hidden away from her evil husband. Amanisa helped her construct a vault to hide the artifact and make it so no vampire would be able to access it. Only those of her blood could open the vault."

"Then we should get the vampires out of there!" Grete suggested, standing. "Do you know what the artifact is?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Lucien answered. "All I know is that it was precious to this vampire, and you know it's painfully serious business when a vampire hides something. I'd wager these vampires are from the Volkihar clan, but how would they have known where to look all these years later…?"

"There was a meteor," Tolan told him. "It was cover in violet flame. It crashed into the mountain by Dimhollow Cave."

"Violet flame you say?" Lucien asked. "Oh dear, this is getting quite serious then. We should hurry up to Dimhollow Cave."

"That's what I was saying!" Tolan snapped.

"Stop," Lucien ordered. "If you go in, weapon drawn, you'll just drop dead. I know you are eager to avenge your comrades and brothers, but try not to kill your horse or yourself in the process. We need to ready ourselves for combat."

"And if the vampires get whatever artifact is in Dimhollow?" Tolan asked.

"These vampires are as dumb as bandits," Lucien answered. "They cannot access the vault without the blood of Amanisa, and not only is she dead, but they likely never heard of her, let alone know her involvement in building the vault or the fact Belinda is her descendant."

"So we go in, clear the vampires, open the vault, and move the artifact over here where it'll be safe," Belinda suggested.

"Why not destroy it?" Isran asked.

"Amanisa mentioned that the artifact was indestructible," Lucien answered.

"Nothing is indestructible," Isran growled.

"Well, I suppose we'll see in a few days then," Belinda pointed out. She finished her food and went to get her pack. The others did the same. Spyro perched on Belinda's shoulders, chirping excitedly. She smiled and gave him a little sausage to gobble up.

* * *

 _Dimhollow Cave, the Pale Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 4_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

They had travelled north up the Rift, west through the Eastmarch, and up into the Pale where. Snow still covered most of the Pale and Eastmarch, but with summer over the harvests beginning, the air was becoming cooler and snow was starting to spread across the northern reaches of Skyrim again. The journey had taken them past the Hall of the Vigilant, which was charred ruins at this point with charred bodies strewn in front of it. It still stank of charred flesh. Tolan led them up the path to Dimhollow, and they saw violet light emanating from the hole the meteor had punched into the side of the mountain. Belinda and Lucien looked at the light and then each other.

" _It's him,"_ she told him.

Lucien nodded in agreement.

Dione and Lucien entered the cave first, moving silently through a narrow tunnel to the first cavern. There were a few dead animals, drained of blood, and vampires. Lucien branched out, trying to count the vampires in the main cavern. Four minds, all vampires. He sensed another presence, one so basic Lucien barely registered it. This presence only knew to feed and to kill. Lucien slinked out to see what could possibly be so monstrous. Patrolling between the vampires was a dog, one larger than Lucien. It was hairless with dark purple skin that seemed to be decaying, with a horrifying jaw with at least three rows of spiky teeth and glowing ruby eyes. When it breathed, it let out icy puffs. Lucien backed behind the rock he and Lucien hid behind.

"Four vampires and a death hound," he whispered to her.

"What is a death hound?" Dione asked, voice barely audible.

"A dead, mutated dog," Lucien answered. "They're almost as bad at the Fell Steeds and Hell Hawks."

"Do I even want to know?" Dione asked.

"I'll tell you that story later," Lucien answered, "but at least the Death Hounds are easy to kill. Take it-."

He fell silent at the sounds of running from behind. They turned and saw Tolan race out. When he saw the vampires and hound, he gave a battle cry and drew his axe before charging into battle. Dione and Lucien groaned, having lost the element of surprise. They jumped up, Dione pulling an arrow and loosing it upon the Death Hound. That didn't stop the monstrous dog. Tolan managed to behead a vampire, the body collapsing. A second vampire came, nails like claws. Dione drew another arrow to stop her, but she was on Tolan with bloodlust in her eyes. Tolan gave her a deep gash before she latched onto his neck and dug her claws into his back. He pulled out a silver knife and stabbed her repeatedly. Pain suddenly shot up his leg and it went number. The Death Hound's teeth were sunk in deep and it was trying to rip Tolan's leg off as he screamed and stabbed the vampire. Dione grabbed one of her silver-headed arrows and shot the vampires on Tolan in the head, killing her. Lucien managed to levitate a boulder and dropped it on the Death Hound, crushing it. The remaining vampires turned to Lucien and Dione, the latter of whom conjured a flaming Daedric arrow to her bow and launched it at one of the remaining vampires. It exploded, sending gore in all directions. Belinda and the others ran in, weapons drawn. Lucien had pulled the remaining vampires sword out with telekinesis and ran him through. The vampire tried to pull it out, but Belinda ran over and sliced his head off.

Ralof moved to Tolan's side. With Grete's aid, he removed the vampire from Tolan, but he was pale and weak from blood loss. The hound had managed to rip part of his leg off and blood pooled around him. Tolan's eyes were wide and wild, and he was still on adrenaline. He was feeling pain, but not enough to properly register it. At this point, it was too late to save him. Grete pulled out her hunting knife and muttered a few words before ending his life. At least she made it fast and painless. She cleaned up the knife and put it back in her boot.

"I'd wager the other vampires here heard all of that," she said. "We've lost the element of surprise."

"We should proceed carefully then," Dione responded.

"Fucking idiot," Belinda grumbled. "He was so consumed with getting revenge and now he's dead. Great."

Grete went to the gate, which was down and prevented travel deeper into the cave. "Spread out and looked around for a lever or trigger for this gate!" Everyone did so, and it was Dione who found the chain to pull inside of the tower that was in the cavern. Grete always wondered how her ancestors knew how to build these places.

When they entered the next area, they were all tense and gripping their weapons. Sarcophagi stood, lids closed. They had seen too many Draugr break from their tombs. When nothing jumped out at them, they relaxed a little, only for Dione to catch a vampire. She shot him in the head with a silver-headed arrow. Then, Belinda pulled a lever for them to enter the next chamber, which was smaller but had open sarcophagi. The bodies had been dragged out for some reason. They heard the sounds of fighting from the next chamber. They stayed quiet and still until the fight ended and then Dione and Lucien went ahead to see who won. A vampire stood over two slain Draugr and a Death Hound. Dione dispatched the vampire quietly and Lucien signaled the others to follow. In the next cavern was a graveyard covered in knee-deep water, water that loosened the ground, allowing the skeletons to dig themselves out and attack. They were dealt with quickly. Of course, the sounds of fighting drew the attention of another vampire that Grete attacked and killed.

The next area was a bit maze-like, and had a few vampires. And spiders. And giant spider eggs. And cobwebs. To which Ralof and Belinda responded with a big fat "HELL NO!" Ralof refused to go further in, so the others had to proceed without him for the time being. Lucien stayed behind so Ralof wouldn't be alone. The spiders in the area were already dead, and there was a powerful vampire fight a large spider. Dione raised her bow and arrow, aiming for the vampire. Astral took out a silver dagger. When the vampire finally slew the spider, he was weak. Astral flung the dagger, getting the vampire in the head. The vampire collapsed and everyone turned to Astral with wide eyes.

"I wanted to see if I could do it," Astral pointed out.

The ancient Nord architecture then gave way to late first era architecture with stone tiles laid in a pattern and gargoyles perched on ledges. They made the group uncomfortable. Astral ran back to get Ralof and Lucien before they proceeded through and old, oak door. The next room was small with barred windows, a closed gate opened by a lever, a pedestal with a scroll on it, some pottery and a tattered blue rug, and a couple braziers. Gargoyles flanked the gate, and Belinda watched them intently as Astral pulled this lever to open the gate. Nothing.

 _They're not just inanimate objects,_ Belinda told herself.

The chamber outside the room was _massive_ , with sun shining through holes in the ceiling and a violet glow coming from the right side of the chamber. They saw the meteor that had punched a hole in the ceiling and the damage it had done to the structure in the center of the chamber; it had destroyed a few of the archways. They heard voices and looked ahead to a pair of vampires interrogating someone, granted the interrogation wasn't going well.

"I'll never tell you anything, Vampire!" the man snapped, body cut and bruised. He wore trousers and his hands were bound behind his back. "My oath to Stendarr is stronger than any suffering you can inflict upon me."

The lead vampire scoffed with a roll of his eyes and drew his sword. "I believe you, Vigilant," he sneered, "and I don't think you even know what you've found here." He turned to the man and swung his sword at the man, beheading him in a single swipe. "Go and meet your beloved Stendarr." He turned to examine the structure, and the other vampire, this one female, spoke up.

"Are you sure that was wise, Lokil?" she asked. "He still might have told us something."

"He knew nothing," the male vampires, Lokil, pointed out.

"We haven't gotten anywhere ourselves," the vampire stated.

"We will figure it out some-." He was looking past her, right at the group. "Raise the dead. Now." The vampires looked to the group and used necromancy to bring forth Draugr and skeletons.

"Well, fuck; so much for doing this quietly," Belinda sighed, drawing her sword. She charged in, the others following.

They battled the vampires and their undead minions, Lucien moving to a vantage point. He needed a good look at debris scattered across the room and to be able to count the enemy so he could guide his allies and cover for Belinda. She was making her way over to the meteor. Astral kept close to her, using hand to hand and acrobatics to defend them and her. The female vampire was hurrying over to them, planning to stop them from using it in anyway. Astral managed to catch her in the chin and she cracked her jaws before drawing her daggers. Belinda was already at the meteor, running her hands over the stone. An arrow zipped in front of her, making her jump back. She looked to see a Draugr shooting at her.

" _Lucien!"_ she called, ducking another arrow.

" _I see,"_ he responded. He reached out to Dione, who had the other good vantage point. She spotted the Draugr easily and sniped him. Belinda resumed her task, trying to find a weak point, a crack, or a hole. Lucien spotted two Draugr coming up on the other side of the meteor and directed Ralof to them. He came at them from behind and cut them down with his axes.

Grete was now one-on-one with the vampire Lokil. They circled each other, occasionally jumping out to stab or slash. Lokil tripped up and Grete came in, swinging her sword upward. Lokil barely managed to block her and then she stabbed downward, running the vampire through. He yelled in pain and she yanked her sword free before swinging to behead him. She then helped finish off the rest of the Draugr. After the fight, they moved over to Belinda and the meteor.

Belinda just looked at it. "You can come out now!" she shouted at it.

"Um, why are you shouting at it?" Grete asked.

"I'll show you in a moment," Belinda answered. She looked thoughtful. "Hey, can anyone see if they can find a scythe nearby?"

Everyone, save Lucien, shrugged and went looking for a scythe. Grete and Dione found it by two gargoyles, stabbed into the ground. Dione and Grete yanked it free, but it was heavy. Astral came and helped them carry it over to the meteor. She looked at them.

"Heavy, huh?" she asked.

"Did you see this earlier?" Dione responded.

"No. Just had a feeling it wasn't in the meteor," Belinda pointed out. She went and helped them, getting it rolled in their hands so that the point of the scythe was facing left. "Now, we're going to use this scythe to break the meteor open."

"What?" Grete asked.

"Just roll with it," Belinda answered. They swung it, moving to give it some force, and the blade cut into the meteor. Everyone, save Belinda and Lucien, was in awe of this. Belinda went over and reached into the cut that made. "Wakey, wakey," she said. She pulled her hand away as the meteor began to crack like an egg.

"We might want to move back," Lucien pointed out, and bolted away. Everyone else did so, dropping the scythe in the process. The meteor shattered around a human-like being, feathery wings unfolding behind them.

The light faded, revealing a beautiful man standing a little over six feet, his body slim and lean. He was almost as pale as Belinda. His hair was feathery soft, long and messy, and white as snow, and when he opened his eyes, dark violet irises were revealed. He wore a white, button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black vest, trousers, and boots. His wings folded again and vanished and he fell to his knees. Belinda and Lucien hurried over to him.

"Karr?" Belinda called softly.

He didn't look up, but moved his shaky hands up to touch her face. He felt her face, trying to memorize it by feel. "You've grown up," he said, voice soft.

"Eight years and that's all you can say?" Belinda asked. "Of course I grew up."

Karr, though blind, could see magic, and Belinda stood out against every other magical being, just as Amanisa had. Her form shimmered with so many colors, like a rainbow formed by fireworks. It was so beautiful and he loved it. Then he looked to the side, eyes falling on silk-like ripples of teal, sapphire, and emerald in the shape of a lynx. He recognized it as Lucien. He smirked and pet the cat's head. His fur was well kept. Karr expected no less. Then he saw others. The faint light of a non-mage, a bright glow of white-gold, light blue, and silver that formed in a tall man; midnight blue fluttered against a backdrop of crimson that faded into deep purple, and there was a brilliant mist of turquoise with strands of pale silver and white light. Karr saw them all, how each individual's magic or light formed. It was a beautiful thing he was left with after his vision was destroyed. Then he saw something rise on Belinda's shoulders, something he had missed. A baby dragon. Karr knew why. Because Belinda and the little one had bonded. Karr opened his mouth to say something, only for his stomach to growl.

"I kinda figured you'd be hungry," Belinda giggled. "First, let's get whatever the vampires were after and get out of here."

Karr nodded and let Belinda and the one with the fluttering midnight help him up. Belinda introduced her as Dione. The dragonet was Spyro (figures), the one with white-gold light was Ralof, the non-mage was Grete, and the turquoise one was an Aetherborn named Astral. Belinda went to the pedestal in the center of the cavern while Karr picked up his scythe. She touched the orb on top, grabbing it with her right hand. It was a mistake, especially when a knife went through her hand. She screamed in pain.

"GODS FUCKING DAMN IT ALL!" she screamed. "FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" The knife withdrew, pleased with her blood and a puzzle activated. Everyone rushed over to her, Karr holding her still and Ralof healing the wound. "How many times is my hand going to get fucked up?" Belinda asked with a groan, wincing.

"At least the scar tissue from the last times is keeping the blood from pouring out," Ralof pointed out.

"Scar tissue?" Karr asked.

"Thanks, Ralof," Belinda grumbled. She looked to Karr. "Yeah, met Nathiel. He decided to put a knife through my hand."

Karr looked down at her hand. He noticed the missing finger. Magic filled her body, so when he saw the lack of magic where her right ring finger should have been, he knew. She had become more like Amanisa than he thought she would be. He had yet to feel her lower arm though, but he could see the shapes beneath her bracer, all three tattoos full of magic. He knew they were there, but not what they hid. Once her hand was healed, the scars on the front and back just looked worse.

They then focus on the puzzle, one that was easy enough. Dione moved around, picking which braziers to move. Soon, a monolith rose where the pedestal was and it slid open, revealing a young, lovely woman in fine, blood red velvet and worn, black leather. Her hair was shoulder length and black as night. She was paler than Belinda. Behind them, Grete drew a sword. Nothing should have been alive in the monolith, let alone be that well-preserved.

"Vampire," she hissed.

"Calm down; perhaps she can be reasoned with," Belinda pointed out, and then saw the vampire fall forward. She, Karr, and Dione moved to catch her and get her into a sitting position. They patiently waited for the vampire to come to her senses.

"Mm, where am I?" she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Oh, just the back end of a cave in a far-flung corner of Skyrim," Belinda answered.

The vampire looked up at her, eyes a hungry red. She giggled. "That's funny." She looked around. "So…I'm guessing you're vampire hunters?" she asked.

"Basically, but we're trying to be civil," Belinda answered.

"Thank you; I'll return the favor," the vampire responded.

"Besides, some of us have these things called morals," Belinda pointed out. "You just woke up after how many years and are probably famished and I don't see a weapon, and-. Is that an Elder Scroll?" That made everyone pause and looked.

The vampire sighed. "Yes," she answered with a groan.

"Oh, now I remember what Valerica was hiding!" Lucien exclaimed. "Well, more like preventing. She trying to prevent some half-baked piece of shit prophecy her husband dug up!"

"Wait, what?" Grete asked.

"Valerica? My mother? Have you seen here?" the vampire asked.

"Not since she appealed to Amanisa for help," Lucien answered. "I just remembered her saying something about a prophecy her husband found and was trying to prevent it."

"What is this prophecy?" Grete demanded.

"Something to do with the 'ending of the tyranny of the sun' bullshit," Lucien answered.

"Oh yeah, that won't end badly for the entire world," Belinda pointed out sarcastically.

"Tell that to my father," the vampire said. She sighed and got up. "I'm Serena, by the way."

Everyone introduced themselves, except for Grete. So Belinda introduced her. After, they left the cave, but first fought through two gargoyles and then a Draugr Deathlord and two dozen lesser Draugr. Karr used his scythe, loosening up his muscles. Serena used necromancy, wielding it with calm and skill. That didn't make Grete feel any better about helping a vampire. At all. Belinda decided to escort Serena home, explaining what's happened in the last 2,000 years. Serena had missed a lot, a lot she wanted to make up for…


	5. Chapter 5: We Have a Problem

_The Pale Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 4_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

"It's so good to breathe fresh air again," Serena sighed, inhaling the fresh, crisp mountain air. It was so much better than the murky cave or the stale, unmoving air of the sarcophagus. She felt a slight burning on her left cheek. As a vampire, she was sensitive to the sunlight, but it wouldn't outright kill her. She just burned easily. So, she drew her hood up and pulled her cloak around her to block the sunlight. She turned to the others, Lucien and Astral trotting out behind her. Grete was close by, hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to strike Serena down. Just because they others readily trusted Serena did not mean the redhead did. Dione slid out of the crevice, inhaling the fresh air. Belinda, Karr, and Ralof were the last to emerge. Belinda and Ralof were helping Karr out. He looked around, feeling the chill air. He was glad to be on the ground.

"Alright, where's your home?" Belinda asked Serena.

"On an island to the northwest of Solitude, just off the coast," the vampire answered.

"That ominous old castle?" Dione questioned. Everyone looked to her. "When I was doing jobs for the Thieves Guild last spring up in Solitude, I had taken some time to investigate shipwrecks in the area for my friend Rune, who was found in one. I saw a castle on an island off the coast."

"That would be it," Serena replied, gave Dione a hard stare. "Keep your hands out of my pockets though."

"Noted."

"Okay; let's get moving before-." Grete was suddenly cut off by the echo of an approaching roar. "What was that?" she asked.

"That would have been a dragon," Belinda answered. The roar then came from overhead as a massive, brass-colored dragon soared above them. It spotted them quickly and soon came to hover. Belinda stepped forward and cleared her throat. Her voice echoed as she spoke in the Dragon Tongue. "Would you mind leaving us be? It's late and we're tired from being in a lousy cave all day."

"Your Tongue is terrible," the Dragon growled in Common, voice deep.

"I tried," Belinda responded. "Look, we don't really want to fight you. We just got done fighting through some arrogant fucks and fought a really nasty undead priest that kept trying to electrocute us. Not to mention I just had my right hand impaled. Again." She held up her bandaged hand. "If you want to burn something to the ground, try the Thalmor Embassy. Those stupid, arrogant, pompous, windbag shitheads need to be taken down a few pegs anyway."

"Tempting," the Dragon chuckled.

Karr's eyes shifted to the right, catching the light in the three crystal beads here wore in his hair. He saw a group of people in Akiviri armor wielding katanas and bows with dragonbone-tipped arrows. They attacked the dragon. It was just a vision, seeing as how Belinda was still giving the Dragon directions to the Embassy, but in said vision, the Akiviri warriors slew the Dragon.

"Belinda!" he called.

"What?" she asked.

"Blades, coming this way," Karr answered.

Dione, Serena, and Lucien listened in and heard the approach of steel boots in the snow, the scraping of metal on metal as swords were drawn from scabbards. They even saw them coming. Belinda turned back to the Dragon.

"Good luck," she told him. The Dragon nodded and flew west. The Blades entered the clearing, and Belinda saw Delphine among them, running to the front with katana in hand.

"The Dragonborn," Delphine told the others, pointing her sword at Belinda. The other Blades looked a little conflicted. They had just seen her consorting with a Dragon.

"Put that katana away before you hurt someone with it," Belinda groaned. "Look, I'll tell you what I told him: I'm really _not_ in the mood right now."

"You lied about Paarthurnax," Delphine pointed out.

"Did I? I think I remember saying Paarthurnax is no more," Belinda corrected.

"You said Alduin killed him for treason," Delphine pointed out.

"Crap, I did say that, didn't I…" Belinda muttered. "Fine. Alduin didn't kill Paarthurnax. I just renamed him."

"He-."

"Just shut up," Belinda groaned. "I really don't give a flying fuck about what he did and all that garbage. I only care about the here and now of it." She started walking away. "Now if you'll excuse us, we only have a few more hours of daylight before we absolutely must set up camp." She took Karr, arm and hand and started guiding him away. Delphine watched them go, glaring. The Dragonborn couldn't be allowed to get away with this, yet she was the ultimate Dragon-slayer. What could she do?

* * *

 _Solitude, Haafingar Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 6_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

They arrived in Solitude at the end of the day, on the 6th of Heartfire. Belinda was more than a little bummed out. She hadn't really wanted to spend her birthday traveling and then going straight to bed. She looked around. Most of Solitude had been rebuilt since she was last there. That was good. Still, she kept her head down. She knew there were many that hated her guts because she had lost herself to rage and bloodlust during battle for Solitude. They entered the Winking Skeever, to which Karr questioned the inn's name.

"The innkeeper had a pet Skeever that winked," Dione explained him.

"How many rooms do you have available?" Belinda asked the innkeeper.

"Three tonight," answered the Nord as he was drying off a tankard.

"We'll take them for the night," Belinda told him, pulling out three pouches of coins. Each pouch had thirty coins. "I assume you had to raise the prices for a room per night due to damages from the war."

The Nord nodded and emptied each pouch to count the coins. He then handed three keys to her and they went upstairs to the rooms. "Alright, how are we going to divide this?" Belinda asked.

"Men in one room, women in another?" Ralof suggested.

"I don't have a gender nor need sleep," Astral pointed out.

"I'm a _cat_ ," Lucien added.

"I'm blind," Karr groaned.

"And I don't really give a shit either way," Belinda stated. "Karr and Lucien with me. Dione and Serena and Ralof and Grete. Astral, you can chose whichever room to read in."

Everyone nodded in agreement and entered the rooms. Astral stay in the loft, sitting at the table overlooking the tavern below. They pulled out a book and relaxed, reading. In their room, Karr removed his vest and hung it over a chair. Belinda removed her corset, boots, braces, knee guards, and mantle and set them on the table. She flopped on the queen sized bed. She quickly noticed it was the only bed. Lucien draped his saddlebags and cloak over the other chair.

"What's today's date?" Karr asked.

"The 6th of Heartfire," Belinda answered.

"On Earth?"

"My birthday."

Karr smiled. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks, though this isn't how I wanted my 18th birthday to go," Belinda pointed out. "Spending all day on my feet and then going straight to bed with nothing to eat but deer jerky and last night's leftovers."

Karr sat beside her. "Have your last nine birthdays gone the way you wanted?" he asked.

"No, they haven't. I just never complained about them." She looked up at the ceiling. She felt Karr laying down beside her, grabbing her left hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Lucien hopped up onto the bed at their feet. "When did they start being so pointless to celebrate?"

"After the first decade or so, you start to ignore them," Lucien pointed out, pawing the furs and blankets. "Of course, you become more prone to it after five decades. I just happen to know I'm over 10,000 at least." He made a few 360's and laid down.

"When was the last time you were home?" Karr asked Belinda.

"Not in a while," she responded. "Haven't seen much purpose in going back, especially since Skorn is looking for me."

"He's what?" Karr demanded, sitting up and looking down at her. "He hurt you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine," Belinda pointed out.

"Just minus something?" Karr asked.

"Yeah…" She held her right hand up to look at it. She had grown used to missing the finger, wearing a glove with the slip for her right finger folded over the stump and buttoned to the palm of the glove. It was less noticeable. She looked at her nails. They needed repainting. The nail polish was beginning to chip and fade. She had learned to store mana in her nail polish, which was a useful little trick. It helped channel certain energies. She smirked at the dark purple/black polish on her middle fingers, filled with Black Mana. An especially nifty way of telling someone to fuck off. Green Mana on the thumbs was a bad joke. Pinky promise White Mana. Red Mana on the forefinger for activity. Blue Mana on the remaining ring finger…

"Nice trick," Karr complimented.

"Thanks," Belinda responded. "I learned this on my own. Chalk is used in these nail polishes, which is a type of stone. While it can't hold the amount of magic a crystal or gem can, it's still able to hold different forms of magic, which is beneficial."

Karr nodded. "Lucien has taught you well."

"Damn skippy I did," replied the Lynx.

Karr smiled and rolled his eyes.

* * *

 _Castle Volkihar, Haafingar Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 7_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

"Well this is ominous and creepy," Belinda bluntly stated. Castle Volkihar was tall and imposing, nestled on a small island off the coast. Dark birds circled overhead and the walls were very uniform and appeared smooth. There was little doubt that the structure was quite ancient, probably dating back all the way to the first era. Gargoyles stood on the stone bridge leading to the portcullis. Belinda had decided to accompany Serena into the castle. Ralof and Dione waited by the boat. The others were on the shore, waiting by Northwatch Keep. On the bridge, Serena paused, giving a small groan. Belinda stopped also and turned to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Ye-yeah," Serena answered, though her eyes and voice betrayed the opposite.

Belinda went over to her. "Do you want to talk about it? I'll listen." She stood, looking attentive.

"I'm…Sorry, but I don't know you well enough," Serena responded.

"Yeah, that's understandable."

They went up to the portcullis where a vampire glared. His expression softened when he saw Serena. He cheered in joy at her arrival and quickly rose the portcullis. He stood aside to let them enter. The smell of blood and death hit Belinda with the force of a charging beast and she pinched her nose, trying to control her gag reflexes. Serena looked bothered by the smell also, despite being a vampire. It was a bit overwhelming. Belinda decided gave a gag, cupping her mouth before slowly pulling her hands away.

"Hey, no vomit," she joked, though with less enthusiasm than she would have liked, and mustered a weak smile toward Serena.

The vampire mustered a weak smile in return and giggled a little. "A little morbid, don't you think?" she asked.

Belinda shrugged.

Serena sighed. "Okay…Just, let me do the talking for a bit," she said, looking nervous.

"Probably for the best," Belinda agreed. "My greetings are usually not the best when I'm exposed to the gross side of Hell."

Serena chuckled and led the way deeper into the castle. A vampire came up. "Serena!" He ran ahead. "Everyone! Serena is back!" People started talking. Belinda and Serena entered a grand throne room with two long tables on either side. Folk with lava-colored eyes in fancy clothes looked to them. Some sat at the tables and others stood in small groups talking, but they all fell silent and looked up. There were a couple non-vampires in rags, scurrying around like mice. They carried pitches and serving platters with goblets full of blood. The tables were lined with corpses recently drained of bloody, bones, blood, organs, and more. A few gnarled, shriveled up hounds patrolled, getting the remains of the deceased and gnawing on bones. Thankfully, the castle was too cold for insects. A slave hurried over and offered them goblets of blood. Serena accepted a goblet with a thanks. The slave turned to Belinda.

"No thank you," she responded.

The servant bowed and left them. Serena downed the goblet and descended the stairs. Belinda followed. The vampires watched her with hungry eyes. They could tell her blood would be delightful. They smelt the uniqueness, the foreign nature. Belinda projected an aura of "Motherfucker, I have a silver stake." She tried to look tough and badass and pulled her mantle of white bear fur up over her neck. Not like it would save her from the truly persistent. At the far end of the room, a dark-haired vampire rose from his throne, walking over to them. He looked pleased.

"Serena! And you've brought the Elder Scroll!" the vampire greeted, and something told Belinda this guy was Serena's father. That was what her gut told her, but this man's disposition toward Serena revealed that he was likely a shitty person who only cared about the Elder Scroll and not his child. He made no move to hug her, kiss her forehead, and generally make her feel loved and accepted. His eyes even went to the give the scroll an appraising look, and Serena radiated anxiety and a desire to be loved.

"Seriously?" she asked, looking desperate for her father's love. "After all this time, that's how you greet me?" There was anger in her voice.

"Must I really say it? Yes, my daughter, I am thrilled to see you well." There was no compassion or love in his voice and Belinda just _really_ wanted to punch the guy in the nose. She decided to make her opinions visible with a hard, angry glare, but Serena's father turned to her and asked, "And what is this? A pet?"

"Excuse you?" Belinda snarled. She felt her soul growl and burn and seethe. The Dragon in her _demanded_ the satisfaction of ripping this… _ **WORM**_ to shreds for such an assumption.

"My, aren't you the vicious one," Serena's father chuckled. "I am Harkon Volkihar, Lord and Sire of the prestigious Volkihar line." He gave a bow, but it was not low enough to please the angry dragon. "I must thank you for returning the Elder Scroll and my daughter to me. I trust, by now, you know what we are."

"I'm going to assume a reclusive cannibalistic cult," Belinda responded sarcastically.

Serena snort and covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. Her father wasn't amused.

"I can see how that might appear to some," Harkon huffed. "But we are so much greater than that."

"I know what the fuck you are," Belinda pointed out. "Perhaps you should look up the word sarcasm some time."

"You have quite the mouth."

"I've been told it's part of my charm," Belinda stated. "Look, I have strong morals and codes. I did more than free Serena and bring her home. I saved her life because I have friends that would rather run her through than see her brought here. When we found her, she was confused, disoriented, and, no offense Serena, in a much weaker state due to lack of feeding. Despite her famished state, she maintained a great amount of composure and politeness not to instantly drain the blood of everyone in the room. So I showed the same courtesy. I'm also bluntly honest: I want to punch you in your nose because you're being an asshole to your own daughter, who right now looks like she needs a parent's love after being sealed away for a couple thousand years." Belinda's words hit hard enough to make Harkon look uncomfortable. Good. She turned to Serena. "It was nice meeting you, Serena. I'll show myself out. I suspect bringing you here will grant me safe passage outside."

"It will," Harkon sneered.

Belinda nodded to Serena, knowing she'd see her again soon…

* * *

 _Dragon's Bridge, Haafingar Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 8_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

Belinda didn't say much upon rejoining the others. They traveled over the mountains through the afternoon night and made it to Dragon's Bridge before dawn. They would rest there a few hours before traveling to Whiterun and then Fort Dawnguard. They sat in the inn, feet sore and legs stiff. The innkeeper was preparing food for the day and brought them porridge and Lucien a cooked venison chop. Finally, Belinda spoke.

"The vampire problem goes beyond what even Isran thinks," she stated. "They're led by a _very_ old vampire named Harkon and now he has an Elder Scroll in his possession. Something tells me this is going to relate to Serena somehow. Karr, can you confirm we'll be seeing her fairly soon?"

Everyone looked to Karr, who fished bloodstone and a clear quartz from his pockets. He held the bloodstone under the clear quartz and looked through it at the fire pit. The firelight flickered and danced, appearing blurry through the quartz. Karr wobbled and turned the quartz carefully, clenching his right eye shut and moving his left eye until the light caught perfectly and reflected into his eye. The dark purple iris glowed, and he saw Serena standing in Fort Dawnguard, surrounded by two men with swords. Belinda appeared and started speaking to the vampire. Flaws in the crystal reflected times and dates. Karr put the crystals away and fiddled with the strange series of watches on his bracer made of silver, mother of pearl, and clear quartz before turning back to Belinda.

"She will appear in Fort Dawnguard in one week and two days in the late afternoon," he finally answered, "but we will not be speaking to her until the evening two days later. As always, give or take a few hours and a day at most. The vision was clear, so that date is relatively set. A few days upon our return, Isran will have a couple errands for us to run."

Everyone was amazed. After paying for breakfast and traveling down the road toward Rorikstead. Grete looked to Karr. He had folded his scythe in, the curved blade seemingly gone, and he was now using the staff as a seeing stick. His wide, unblinking and dead eyes unnerved her, especially since he could apparently see the future. What was the name for such beings? Seers? Visionaries? Oracles? Was that why he had little trouble?

"So, you see the future?" Grete asked, watching him nervously. Honestly, did he only blink when she did?

"Yes and no," Karr answered. "I can only see through crystals, usually clear quartz along with another crystal of some sort. Some crystals work better than others for certain races. That probably sounds terrible out of context, but bloodstone helps me see vampires and blood mages very well."

"How far can you see?"

"As far as I want, but the vision becomes more unclear as I go on and I cannot see past the end of my life."

That was a bit morbid to think about. Did that mean Karr could see how he would die? Is it a fixed moment? Or could it change like anything else? Lucien most likely heard her thoughts, because he stated, "Do not ask him when and how he will die. He doesn't know and every time he finds out, I have to erase it from his mind."

"That's depressing," Dione muttered, taking a drink of water.

"Well, who would want to know how and when they were going to die?" Belinda asked, looking over her shoulder. "Just knowing how and when, and as the day comes ever closer, you start to lose sleep and the anxiety just builds over time and then, you're just mentally and emotionally dead from the crushing weight of knowing."

"Okay, never mind; _that_ is really depressing," Dione pointed out.

They kept walking, making it to Rorikstead around noon the next day. They had walked through the night and were just exhausted. They rented a couple rooms and crashed, waking to use the privy, bathe, and eat. They awoke the following morning to a hot breakfast and walked all day to Whiterun where they entered Belinda's house. Belinda served bread that she warmed with light pyromancy with a spread of garlic and herb butter, leftover beef and barley stew she had in the pantry, and spice pear mead.

They sat around the fire for a bit before heading to bed. Belinda's housecarl retired earlier than the others, taking the stairs to the second floor and making an immediate left turn to her room. Dione went to the spare room on the ground floor where she removed her armor and didn't bother with night clothes. Lucien and Astral went to their rooms in the basement. Ralof and Grete pulled out their bedrolls and slept by the fire. Belinda and Karr went upstairs and changed. They ached and yawned, ready to sleep after such a long journey. She snuggled up to him. He held her close. It was comfortable…


	6. Chapter 6: Moon and Stars

_Whiterun, Whiterun Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 10_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

Belinda awoke with a yawn, stretching and arching her back before flopping back down. She looked up at the ceiling for a bit, thinking, _I should paint it dark blue and stick glow in the dark stars on it._ She remembered her childhood room and the many glow in the dark stars that dotted her ceiling. _And maybe some glitter paint in bright blue, green, and pink like far off galaxies._ She smiled at the thought. It would be lovely and comforting and this was her house. She could do whatever she wanted with it. Lucien heard the thoughts and saw the images of looking up at an extraordinary night sky before going to bed at night. He convey the thoughts to Karr, Dione, Astral, Lydia, Ralof, and Grete.

"I can arrange these glow in the dark stars in the constellations of Mundus," Dione pointed out in a whisper, not wanting Belinda to hear. "But, what are these things exactly?"

Karr explained, though Ralof and Grete didn't quite understand it. Dione seemed to understand it more. Karr Planeswalked away to get the items in question as Belinda trudged downstairs. She blinked at the rip in reality, the flow of aether steam as it jetted in from the Blind Eternities, and Karr was gone in a dissipation of snow-white, onyx-black, and gold smoke. Grete and Ralof were speechless, not quite sure what exactly just happened. Lucien was licking his paw. Astral was fascinated. Dione tilted her head to the side and looked to Belinda.

"Is that how we look to others?" she asked.

"Well, the doorway to the Blind Eternities is the same, but the dissipation is different for everyone," Belinda answered. She went to the pantry to see what they had for food. She settled for cookies since she could. _This is how I adult,_ she thought, taking ten cookies and pouring herself a glass of milk for her breakfast.

" _I'm fairly certain that's_ _ **not**_ _how to adult,"_ Lucien pointed out, deciding not to speak physically.

" _Silence,"_ Belinda responded, dunking in a cookie and swirling it around. She looked to Dione and asked, "Why did Karr Planeswalk?"

"Something about an errand he needed to run," Dione answered, eating a strip of jerky. She was a good enough liar. "Not quite sure honestly. I'm gonna head to the market and listen to the gossip." She stood and went out the door. It was the truth. She was going to listen to the latest gossip since that's how a thief learned interesting tidbits. But her true motive was to get some paint for Belinda's bedroom ceiling. Midnight blue along with smaller cans of bright blue, green, and pink to paint the night sky. Karr would handle the glitter paint and stars. Astral slipped away to make lanterns of Masser and Secunda. Lucien went to the Companions to talk to them about a party to distract Belinda while the others got the ceiling done.

Belinda shrugged and ate her cookies. "They're up to something," she muttered, really more to herself than to Ralof and Grete.

"I'm going to go check the temple and see if anyone needs healing," Ralof announced, taking his leave.

"Want to go riding?" Grete asked.

"Sure."

Lucien entered Jorrvaskr and went up to Sieghard. "So, where can we go around her to get a damn good chocolate cake?" he asked.

"Carlotta," Farkas answered. "Whenever she gets baking chocolate, she bakes the best chocolate cakes in all of Skyrim. In fact, I happen to know Ysolda sold her some chocolate yesterday. Ysolda is really the best person to talk to about getting ahold of fancy chocolates though."

"Farkas: Never doubt your intelligence," Lucien stated. He gathered the rest of the circle around. "Belinda's birthday was four days ago, and yet again, she didn't get to celebrate it properly. She loves chocolate cake with white buttercream frosting and purple buttercream roses."

"I'll talk to Carlotta about the cake," Farkas stated. "Maybe I'll get some cupcakes on the side." He left to speak with Carlotta.

Sieghard and Aela hurried off to hunt down a nice big stag for supper while Tilma watched after little Kodlak. Ria and Athis decorated while Njada and Torvar hauled up the best kegs. Of course, Torvar, being the loud drunkard he is, declared to all of Whiterun about the party celebrating the Dragonborn becoming an adult. Dione heard it on the gossip mill and groaned. Of course Torvar couldn't keep his big mouth shut. Lucien was buying fruits and veggies for the pot for supper and Dione walked up to him, carrying sealed cans of paint.

"Well, this was subtle," she pointed out. "Now there's going to be a big party and Belinda will get uncomfortable."

Carlotta and Farkas nodded, also at the stall. "I have noticed Belinda doesn't really like crowds and usually comes to the market when there's fewer people around," Carlotta pointed out, loading Lucien's baskets up with produce.

"I'm gonna kick Torvar's a-." Farkas started, but Carlotta cut him off with a scolding glare and a harsh, "Language." Her daughter Mila was running up with Lars Battle-Born, currently the youngest of the clan.

"His Mr. Cat," Lars and Mila greeted.

Lucien gave a feline smile and summoned little illusory butterflies to flutter around the children. They giggled and chased them around. Lars's older brother watched with an approving smile from his place in the shadows. Carlotta and Farkas smiled also.

"I'm going to head back to Jorrvaskr," Lucien reported, hurrying off.

"I'll get to work on the cake," Carlotta added, putting away her goods and locking up the stall for today. "It's last minute, but Farkas said he'll pay well."

"And I'll get to work on the ceiling," Dione muttered, heading back to Breezehome where Lydia helped her out. Dione was lightweight and so sat on Lydia's strong, broad shoulders. The Nord carried the half-elf around Belinda's room, giving her extra height to reach the ceiling with the paint. While some spots were still wet, Dione swirling the neon colors in. When done, Lydia got down so Dione could get off. They looked up.

"How's it look?" she asked.

"Pretty," Lydia answered, looking at the rich dark blue with swirls of brighter color.

"And we're not even done yet," Dione sighed, making Lydia groan. "Karr isn't back yet with the rest of the stuff to finish the ceiling." She turned to the other woman. "Let's go get you something for your shoulders."

* * *

 _Helgan, Whiterun Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 10_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

They had made incredible time on horseback, racing from the stables all the way to the crossroads. They turned south and trotted their horses up the zig-zagging south road, across the bridge, through Riverwood, and raced the rest of the way to Helgan. They entered the ruins of the Imperial Fortress. Belinda looked around. The hole where Alduin shoved his head through the wall was still in the tower, the inn was still standing despite all odds, and the house where Hamming and his parents lived had collapsed. Belinda wondered: _Whatever happened to the boy?_

"I should have been here," Grete muttered. "I could have done something to help."

"No one expected a fucking dragon to swoop in and destroy the place," Belinda pointed out. They found the execution block, the charred remains of the executioner and the Nord who shouted at the priestess of Arkay, and the blackened axe. "I was about to be executed, but I was about to Planeswalk the fuck out of here. It wasn't my fight back then, so I didn't really give a damn one way or the other. I was just going to disappear, reappear somewhere else after a week, and pretend it never happened. Then Alduin showed up and everything went to the worst side of the worst side of Oblivion." She sighed. "Alduin…What a pretentious fucking asshole." She then turned to the inn. "Hmm, I remember something Ralof said when we met. He wondered if some guy named Vilod was still making mead with juniper berries mixed in. It sounded like he really liked it…"

"Maybe…" Grete agreed.

They entered the ruined inn, looking around. The floorboards under their feet groaned and a portion of the interior collapsed where Belinda had jumped down from the second story. Barrels lay on the side the bar was crumbling with scorches on the stones. The wood was gone. Belinda found a barrel on its side with scorches. Inside were some bottles. She picked up one and wiped away the ash and soot from the label: Juniper Berry Mead.

"I found the mead!" she called to Grete.

The redhead came over and helped her padded the bottles and they bagged them before returning to their horses. As they rode out of ruins, they saw someone riding up the road on a dark grey steed. He wore a heavy cloak lined with…Feathers? He rode up to them, making them pause and pointed behind them.

"Is that Helgan?" he asked.

"It is," Belinda answered.

"And if I follow the road through, I will eventually find Riften, correct?" the stranger asked.

"Yes; it is a couple days travel from here," Belinda answered, "but the fort is in ruin and you won't find the next inn for another day. There is an old abandoned shack along the road a few hours from here though a while before Ivarrstead. Otherwise, you might end up riding through the night."

The stranger nodded. "Again, thank you." He rode past them and into the ruins. Belinda and Grete watched him disappear in ruins before turning turned their horses back to their course and raced back to Whiterun.

* * *

 _Whiterun, Whiterun Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 10_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

Karr 'walked back into existence from far away. He had arrived behind the Whiterun stables. Perfect. He looked through his crystal beads and saw the wall. He climbed up easily, not even thinking about it. It was just easier that way and he ran between buildings and merchants to Breezehome. Inside, Dione was icing Lydia's shoulders and the two looked up.

"I have the stars and glitter paint," he reported.

They went upstairs and Dione, this time with both Lydia and Karr's help, paint the bright patches of blue, pink, and green with glitter then arrange the stars in the constellations. Once down, they let her down and Dione and Lydia studied the ceiling. It was stunning. That was when Astral came up carrying the lanterns. Lydia and Karr got Dione up to put hooks in the ceiling for the lantern moons. They heard the front door open downstairs and Belinda and Grete entered.

"We're back!" Belinda called. "And we brought mead!"

"What kind of mead?" Karr asked. "I haven't had a proper drink in a while!"

"If not for your angel blood, I'd complain about how rancid your liver must be!" Belinda shot up. "And it's juniper!" Karr led the others down, where they saw Belinda and Grete unwrapping the bottles and setting them on the table. Belinda turned to them and asked, "So what were you all doing up in my room?"

"You'll see tonight after supper," Karr answered. "Astral told me we've been invited to dinner at Jorrvaskr."

"Then I should go change into proper clothes," Belinda pointed out.

"Actually, sweetie, Dione and I want to doll you up!" Astral told her. "We bought some lovely fabrics and threads at the market and we want to make you a nice party dress!"

"A party dress?" Belinda asked, raising a brow.

"Absolutely sweetie!" Astral replied. They took her hand and led her downstairs. Dione followed.

Everyone sighed in relief. They got in their finest and Belinda returned after sunset, wearing a slimming purple dress with flowing, off-shoulder sleeves and the neckline and hems of the dress and sleeves lined with silver fur. She wore a black felt choker with an amethyst cabochon beautiful silver embroidery. Karr saw her through the beads and his breath was taken away. Somehow, they had managed to get Belinda's hair just like Amanisa's: A beautiful and intricate braided bun with a beautiful comb at the base. She wore a black leather glove over her scarred hand with the ring finger folded over and clipped to the palm. By now, Ralof and Lucien had returned.

"How do I looked?" she asked.

Ralof gave a whistle of approval.

"Lovely," Grete answered.

"Here, here," Lucien agreed.

"Stunning," Karr added.

Spyro flew over and settled on Belinda's shoulders. "Thank you; you'll keep my shoulders nice and toasty," Belinda giggled, scratching his chin. "To be honest, I think this is a bit elegant for an evening out." She grabbed her purse and slipped a bottle of juniper berry mead into it.

"No, it's fine!" Dione pointed out, having changed into her best tunic and trousers.

They hurried to Jorrvaskr, Belinda noticing how quiet the streets were. Only the guards were out and The Drunken Huntsman and The Banner Mare were oddly quiet. It did seem a bit odd. They arrived at the Gildergreen, which radiated with magic. The leaves were the colors of fire, alerting the change in seasons and most of the fruits were ripe and ready to be picked. Karr looked at the brilliant, jewel-like aura that was Belinda against the soft, colorful glow of the Gildergreen. Ralof exited the temple and walked over.

"Oh, Ralof!" Belinda greeted. "Grete and I were in Helgan earlier and found something you might like." She pulled out the bottle of juniper berry mead and handed it to him.

"You found this?" Ralof asked in awe.

"We found a few more bottles that survived the destruction of Helgan," Belinda answered.

"Thank you for this," Ralof said. "It means a lot that you were able to find and save something like this, especially since Vilod died in Alduin's attack on Helgan. Maybe we can find a way to recreate it in his memory."

"Farkas brews mead as a hobby; so let's bring the bottle to him," Belinda suggested. "We're heading up to Jorrvaskr now."

Ralof nodded and joined them up the steps. They entered the ancient mead hall to a loud "SURPRISE!" Belinda nearly fell over in alarm and saw then what everyone had been up to. That and why the streets were so quiet. Everyone came up to greet her and she forced a smile and politeness. There were so many people it was dizzying. She was no social butterfly and usually kept her friends. Quality over quantity after all. A few people wanted to personally thank her for various tasks and errands she had helped with. Finally, Sieghard came up and patted her head.

"Sorry about all these people," he apologized. "Tovar couldn't keep his big mouth shut."

Belinda gave him a genuine smile. "It's okay. Just a bit overwhelming is all. I'll kick his ass later," she responded.

"Want some help?" Farkas asked, coming in. "I'm big and strong after all."

Belinda giggled. "Sure thing!"

Farkas then got her on his large shoulder and carried her around. People tossed flower petals and fallen leaves at her, making her laugh. Farkas set her down and Ria put a crown of purple mountain flowers on Belinda's head. Karr took a glimpse through the crystal beads and saw how beautiful she was. The local children, Lars, Mila, Braith, and Lucia held hands and danced around her until joined their ring. Then came the feast, then the cake, and, finally, gifts. Belinda told everyone she didn't really care whether or not they brought gifts, especially since the party was really last minute from her understanding. Then, the doors opened and everyone turned to who entered. It was a tall, imposing figure, a hood shrouding his appearance, but eyes glowed like lava. The Circle stood, tensed and ready to attack. They _smelt_ it: A Vampire.

 _Karr always said there was a Vampire that can Planeswalk; this must be him,_ Belinda thought. She rose. "Sieghard, it's fine. He's a friend," she assured.

Sieghard looked at her, almost thinking she lost her mind. But her eyes seemed to speak to him. He turned to the rest of the Circle and nodded to them. They sat, but stayed tense. Karr went up to the stranger and asked, "Must you make an entrance?"

"It is a grave matter," the stranger answered. "Could you and Lucien step outside and spare me a moment?" He was polite and retreated into the night. Karr gestured for Lucien and the Lynx trotted through the crowd. Dione spoke mentally to Belinda.

" _Ever had the moment where you were treated like a child?"_ she asked.

" _That's how the Old Ones are,"_ Belinda answered. _"We younger ones are children compared to them."_ She knew that wouldn't satisfy Dione's curiosity. _"Wanna act like children and spy on the adults?"_ she gave the Dunmer a smile.

"Let's," she answered quietly.

The young women stood and slipped through the crowd of murmuring guest. Astral saw them and quickly drew attention, getting everyone to dance to music and the bards to play. Belinda and Dione slipped out the open doors and snuck around the back to try and find and hear the conversation between the Old 'Walkers. They were in the shadows of the Skyforge. The stranger was pacing. All three of the Old 'Walkers knew they were there, and the stranger didn't bother denying it.

"Do not skulk; it is unbecoming," the stranger ordered.

Belinda and Dione joined them in the shadows and the stranger removed his hood. Dione could see best in low lighting, so she knew the stranger's skin was ashen and that his hair was white. If not for the unnatural glow of his eyes, black sclera, and human-looking ears, he might have been mistaken for a Dunmer. But this made it all too obvious. This stranger was a Vampire, and Belinda called him a Planeswalker and told her there was only one Vampiric Planeswalker that she knew of. She was a little unsettled. Dione had hoped that she would never meet this being. Belinda approached him without fear.

"So, you're the vampire Planeswalker?" Dione asked.

"I am Sorin Markov," the stranger answered, "and you will keep your hands where I can see them, and away from my pockets." His tone was stern and full of warning.

"I am not remotely interested in trying to steal from you," Dione pointed out.

"Keep it that way." Sorin looked to Belinda. "Happy belated birthday. I have two birthday presents for you and something I had meant to return to Amanisa, but never got the chance to. Would you hold out your right wrist?"

Belinda did so. "Thank you, by the way, but how did you-?" Sorin put a silver bracelet on her wrist. It had a smooth, bright red bloodstone on it. It had a soft glow to it, indicating it was full of magic. Sorin must have stored blood magic in it. Next, he handed her a vial of his blood. She asked, "What's this for? I get the bracelet, but the blood…?"

"Vampire blood has several beneficial properties," Sorin answered. "It can cure the common cold and heal the deepest of wounds. Use it wisely." He reached inside her coat and pulled out a leather-bound book. "I borrowed this from Amanisa's private collection. I never got to return it. It is yours now."

Belinda took the book. She was curious as to what it was and flipped it open to a random page. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks went pink. Dione raised a brow and looked over her shoulder. "Whoa," she commented. "I don't think that's physically possible."

"What was that book?" Karr asked.

"Okay, now I _know_ that can't be physically possible," Dione pointed out, still looking at the book.

"Just a book; I have a question and a favor," Sorin answered Karr.

"You're the flexible one," Belinda told Dione. "Maybe you should give it a try."

Karr raised a brow. "What?"

"I suppose so," Dione agreed.

Sorin produced a gaudy looking dagger from his coat, drawing Belinda's and Dione's gazes. It was wide and edge was slightly curved, but the blade was adorned with spikes that stabbed through what looked like a bar connected to the guard. The blade looked almost like bone. Overall, it was impractical and would be worthless in battle because of the spikes and bar. Dione raised a brow at it. Who would make something so worthless? Belinda saw it before her: Magic. Of course, this dagger was useless in a physical fight, but it had a unique magic to it.

"The Ancient Fang," Karr stated. "Where was it?"

"It made its way to Innistrad," Sorin answered. "Before that, the Cult of Rakdos on Ravnica had it and before even that, it was used by Sifa Grent of Grixis. It's caused a lot of problems. My favor is that you hide it."

"Done," Karr responded, taking the dagger. "Dione: You're Master of the Thieves Guild and Archmage of Winterhold College. This artifact requires the highest level of security. Can you craft a vault?"

"I'll get my people working once we reach Riften," she told him. She looked at the dagger and asked, "What exactly is that?"

"Annoying," Sorin answered.

"I'd demonstrate, but Sorin would likely kill me," Karr chuckled.

"The Ancient Fang…Isn't that the dagger known for mass murder of the living and undead?" Belinda asked.

"What?" Dione exclaimed, looking wide-eyed to Belinda.

"Yes," Karr, Lucien, and Sorin answered.

"Oh, I heard this story from another Planeswalker a few years ago," Belinda explained. "He was from Fiora and the people of his hometown were all killed by the woman Sorin mentioned, Sifa Grent. We exchanged some gossip and stories we've heard. I told him there were some real oddball Planeswalkers out there including a vampire. He actually laughed at that."

"Dack Fayden," Sorin groaned.

"Seriously, is there anyone you don't know?" Dione asked.

"Plenty," Belinda answered, started to shift weight from one foot to the other. She didn't like standing around for too long.

Sorin turned back to Karr and Lucien. "My question is for the both of you," he told them. "I need to know where Ugin might be. The seals and wards imprisoning the Eldrazi have been broken and now they're loose on Zendikar. Ugin didn't show up."

"The Eldrazi are loose?!" Lucien exclaimed, ears flattening and tail curling up. He looked down, thinking. "I haven't seen him in thirteen hundred years. I'll give you a list of planes to look for him, including his homeplane of Tarkir." His eyes shone teal and he transferred the mental list to Sorin's mind.

Sorin inhaled deeply and exhaled. Receiving information like this was taxing on anyone, but he was used to it. Belinda and Karr could see the stream of memories magically. He nodded to the four.

"Thank you for your assistance," he said, turning away from them. "I apologize that I cannot stay for the festivities, but Ugin must be found."

Belinda tapped her aventurine and sent a telepathically sent an image of the monster that had chased her and Dione when they were on Zendikar. It made Sorin pause. The memory was unwelcomed.

"Was that an Eldrazi?" Belinda asked.

"That was one of the brood of the Eldrazi," Sorin answered, "and that ash was waste and devastation in its truest form. So why did you lick it?"

Dione gave a cross between a giggle and snort. Belinda rolled her eyes. "Because I'm dumb like that," she answered, and Dione went and leaned against the wall, trembling and giggling like an idiot. Karr and Lucien said nothing, but the latter caught the barest hint of amusement on Sorin's face. When was the last time Sorin had grinned?

 _Too long ago,_ Lucien thought. _There's still some humanity left in him._

"Now if you'll excuse me; there's someone on Harmonia I must speak to," Sorin told them, and he slipped through a black rip in reality, and was gone in a haze of soot black, moonlight white, and blood red smoke…


	7. Chapter 7: Recruitment

_Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 13_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

The party had ended at midnight, and Belinda's breath had been stolen at the gift her friends gave her: A ceiling like the night sky of Nirn. She had slept soundly, cuddled up to Karr, until after dawn. Then it was time to pack up and go. This time, instead of taking the longer north road to Riften or going around Helgan's ruins, they went through them. Karr saw glimpses of the past through various crystals that it had once been a bustling fort-town full of people with lives and families until Alduin burned it to the ground. Belinda and Ralof had survived. He saw how they did it, too. Working together with both Imperials and Stormcloaks to escape. There were no enemies that day, just people who had to survive and people who died. No one felt comfortable setting up camp in the ruins, so they pushed on until they reached the abandoned shack. A light rain followed them the next day, forcing them to put on cloaks. During this, a group of Imperials ambushed them, recognizing them as Stormcloak soldiers. Belinda rolled her eyes. She was not in the mood for this.

"Okay, you assholes only get one warning before all Hell breaks loose," she told them, hand going to the hilt of her sword. "Seriously, it's raining, we're heading to Fort Dawnguard, and an insanely ancient and powerful vampire has an Elder Scroll, so would you please just get the fuck out of our way and leave us be?" Her glare was hard.

"See! I told ya they're those Stormcloak commanders!" one of the soldiers pointed out, glaring. He pointed to Belinda. "And tha' un is Ulfric's second highest ranking officar." He drew his sword.

Belinda groaned, rolling her eyes. She drew her sword. "You just had to start shit…FUS-RO-DAH!" The Shout sent the soldier sailing several dozen feet into the air and then he landed with a splat. Everyone had watched and the soldiers looked to Belinda, who asked, "Anyone else?"

The remaining soldiers ran away back to their camp.

"Think that'll come back to bite us in the ass?" Dione asked.

"Eventually," Belinda answered, withdrawing her sword. She started walking, and the others followed.

Upon their arrival in Riften, they stabled the horses. The drizzle had eventually turned into a downpour, leaving the group soaked, muddy, and cold. The stable hand went to work caring for the horses while the party entered the city. The streets were empty, save for the local guards who huddled under water-proofed cloaks. Dione led them to her personal residence: Honeyside. They crowded into the living room, tracking mud inside. Dione started a fire in the fireplace and they all rested and relaxed. The skies were clear the next day and they traveled the rest of the way to Fort Dawnguard.

They entered the beautiful canyon and rode up the path. The fort was coming along nicely, and they were surprised to see a wagon, a horse, two cows, a coop with three chickens, and a dog. A family was settled around a fire, consisting of a tall Nord man, a Nord woman, two teen sons, and a little daughter brushing her doll's hair. The man and his sons were already working some of the land nearby while the woman brought water to the Dawnguard members training.

"Where the farmers come from?" Grete asked Celann when they reached the doors.

"Refugees wanting to hide from the vampires," the Breton answered. "They were quick to offer their services for protection. We can be self-sufficient thanks to them and not have to rely too heavily on income from jobs for food." He looked out over the canyon. "We could end up becoming a real community here. Natural defenses, removed from politics, large enough to have homes, and it's peaceful here."

"I couldn't agree more," Grete said, "but that means we have to be careful and watch everyone who comes in and out of here. A vampire or two could sneak in." She looked down the path to the entrance. "We could build a post there to check the people coming in and out."

"A good idea," Celann agreed. "In the meantime, Isran needs help tracking down some old partners of his." He then noticed Karr. "Who's he?" he asked.

"That's Karr Ivorring, an old friend of Belinda's," Grete answered.

Celann saw Belinda helping Karr dismount Queen Alfsigr and hand him his cane. She helped him inside the fort. "Is he blind?" he asked Grete.

"Yeah," Grete answered. "Don't ask me how or if he was born that way; I haven't a clue. Of course, we don't know each other well enough yet."

Isran was waiting for them. "We were attacked while you lot were gone," he pointed out, sharpening the blade of his axe. "So tell me you have some good news."

"Good news? That's good one! Yeah, no, we have fucking terrible news," Belinda reported. "The vampires were looking for another vampire who was hidden away in Dimhollow Crypt and, as it happens, she had an Elder Scroll on her and, based on meeting her father who came off as a major dickhead, he was more invested in the Elder Scroll than he was his own daughter. How's that for love, am I right?"

Isran's eye twitched. "They have an Elder Scroll…AND YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO STOP THEM?!" he demanded loudly.

"Okay, first of all: The vampire we met was polite and courteous despite having not fed in likely a thousand years; so I apologize for having a moral compass pointing at 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'" Belinda pointed out. "Secondly: She politely asked if we could help her get home. Thirdly, despite our numbers and the fact that we have beaten incredible odds before, vampires are actually quite strong, especially in numbers greater than our own. So get the fuck over it before you have a fucking heart attack."

Isran glared at her.

"Yeah, I probably should have mentioned Belinda doesn't take shit from anyone," Grete muttered, "not even her elders."

"That's good," Isran growled, sitting back down in his chair. "It means she'll be a good hunter." He groaned, rubbing his temples. He and Belinda were going to butt heads. A lot. But the facts now were this: They needed help. He needed people. He thought for a moment, and knew what he needed: Gunmar and Sorine Jurard. "I need to find a couple of the people I've worked with over the years: There's Gunmar, a professional hunter who works with beasts, trolls in particular. Hates vampires almost as much as I do. He might be tricky to find, given Skyrim's size. Sorine Jurard might be easier to find. She's a Breton: Sharp as a whip and is interested in Dwemer weaponry. Last I heard, she was in the Reach, on the trail to the largest Dwemer ruins yet."

 _Except the largest Dwemer ruins aren't even in the Reach,_ Belinda thought.

"Easier to find my ass," Grete huffed. "The Reach alone is massive and there's plenty of Dwemer ruins there. Finding her could take weeks or even months that we don't have."

"Karr?" Belinda called.

Isran finally noticed the white-haired man standing in the shadows. How had he missed him? He saw everything there was to see, especially in Fort Dawnguard!

"A hunter and weapons researcher, correct?" Karr asked, reaching into his belt satchel.

"Sounds about right," Belinda answered.

Karr pulled out two crystals: A deep, forest-green emerald and a strange gem that looked like a ruby and a sapphire fused together or something. Belinda guided him to the window and opened it. Karr held up the emerald first, turning it until the light shone through and struck his eyes. The irises glowed and he saw the one called Gunmar, passing through Ivarrstead and talking with the local. The number 3 passed through the vision, which meant this would happen in three days. Next he repeated the process with the strange gem. In the next four days, she would lose her satchel beside the river in the Reach. She was new a small, Dwemer structure with a strange, gem-adorned chest.

"I need a map of the Reach and ink," he ordered. Belinda brought them and Karr dipped his forefinger into the inky before pressing it against the spot where Sorine would be. "Sorine will be in that area in four days after losing her satchel by the river that flows there." He pressed his inked finger just above Ivarrstead. "Gunmar will be in Ivarrstead in three days. Based on the movement of his lips, there's something about a bear he's been tracking for almost two weeks."

"Are you an Oracle?" Isran asked, watching Karr.

"Yes," Karr replied. "I see through gems and crystals of course."

"Interesting," Isran muttered. "But it looks like we know when and where Sorine and Gunmar will be. We just need to get there first."

"Don't rely on the visions too much," Karr warned, not turning from the window. "The future is always changing. It's easier to see the past as it happened and the present as it happens, and the further ahead I go, the more likely it is something will change. I don't like looking more than a week ahead in time."

"He really doesn't," Belinda confirmed, "but it will take us three days to get to where Sorine is and we'll need to have someone waiting in Ivarrstead for Gunmar. So, we'll split up into two groups." She paused. "Actually, make that three groups. Some of us will need to stay to help defend the fort from other attacks." She looked between her companions. "Astral, Ralof, and Grete, stay here and help prepare the fort for future attacks. Dione and Lucien, Karr and I will split from you outside Ivarrstead. Now, let's grab our horses and move out."

* * *

 _Ivarrstead, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 16_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

They rode to Riften, rested, rode hard to Ivarrstead, rested again, and then Belinda and Karr rode made for the Reach. This left Dione and Lucien to hang around Ivarrstead for a time. The former stuck to a shadowy corner away from prying eyes, and soon the latter rejoined her with meat pies for them both. Dione looked to Lucien.

"So, you're a telekinetic, right?" she asked, even though she had seen him successfully lift rocks ten times his weight.

"Correct," Lucien answered, and lapped at his bowl of wine.

"So why don't you always use your telekinesis solve problems?" Dione asked.

"Because it would take away the tension," Lucien answered, raising his head from his wine, "and what's the fun and intrigue in that? Dione, if people used magic to solve all their problems, existence would be excessively boring. I usually use my telekinesis to write and hold books. As you can imagine, it's actually impossible to hold these things without thumbs. Unlike solving puzzles and crushing the enemy, being an intellectual and not having thumbs is actually a very serious problem."

Dione truly had no response to that. Lucien was completely right. Without magic, he was a mighty warrior and a talented thief. With magic, he was overpowered and could easily fell every foe, except Alduin. If Lucien wanted to, he could have collapsed the ceiling on the vampires back in Dimhollow, but always held back.

The following conversations over the next couple days ranged from magical theory to different planes in the multiverse. Lucien even talked about his family. He had had a wife and three children. Those had been happy centuries of relaxation spent in the form of an Elven man. His wife died of old age and his children went on with life while Lucien returned to his true form and disappeared.

"Being a Planeswalker over 60 years ago could be quite lonely sometimes," he told Dione, "so it was important to be happy while we could."

"Have other Planeswalkers gotten together with other Planeswalkers?" Dione asked, feet kicked up onto her table and sipping from a bottle of Honningbrew.

"That's a silly question; of course," Lucien answered, eating a lavender dumpling.

The door to the inn swung open, attracting their attention. An average-sized Nord wearing furs and carrying two axes walked in. One axe was steel and the other was silver. Dione checked the description of Gunmar that Karr gave them. Long, light brown hair, pale, dark eyes, and large muscles. He went up for the bar and ordered some mead and stew. He and the innkeeper talked for a bit.

"That's him," Dione confirmed, shoving the scrap of parchment into a pouch on one of the belts crossing her chest. She downed the rest of her mead and stood. She took a seat at the bar beside Gunmar. "Are you Gunmar?" she asked him, keeping her voice low, but getting the Nord's attention.

"Whose asking?" he responded, tone guarded and body tense.

"Isran sent me," Dione explained.

"What does he want?" Gunmar asked.

"The vampire situation is getting out of hand; the Volkihar clan has procured an Elder Scroll," Dione answered.

"That…Is a very serious problem," Gunmar muttered. He looked around. "How did you find me though?" he asked suspiciously.

"I have a friend who is good at scrying," Dione answered. "Isran wants us to meet up at Fort Dawnguard. Says you're passionate about vampire hunting and good with the beasts of Skyrim. He's got an area in the fort set up for penning and training trolls."

"Never thought I'd see the day when Isran actually asked for help," Gunmar chuckled. "Well, I'll head there. But first I need to find this bear I've been tracking for the last two weeks. It attacked one of the miners in Dark Water Crossing and I've been chasing it through Eastmarch and the Rift since. Nearly killed another miner in Shor's Stone."

"We'll help you deal with the bear then," Dione assured.

"We?" Gunmar asked.

"My cat and I," Dione answered.

"HEY!" Lucien snapped, making Dione snicker.

"I assume it's a talking cat?" Gunmar asked.

"I am a _lynx_ you morons!" Lucien snapped again.

The next morning, they went to small cave in the side of the Throat of the World. They was a large, angry brown bear outside it. It charged at them. Lucien charged in return, and then leapt onto the beast's back. He bit down on the bear's neck, making it stop and rear up. Dione and Gunmar drew their bows and arrows and fired at the bear until it fell to the ground dead. Lucien hopped off and hack and spit out the blood.

"Bear meat and blood is terrible," he spat.

"Not where you're desperate," Gunmar pointed out. He examined the bear corpse. "This beast is very healthy. It should yield plenty of supplies."

Dione went and removed the claws from the bear. "My mom knows alchemy," she pointed out.

After, they went into the cave where there was a two more large brown bears and a smaller black bear. That actually threw the three off a bit, but Lucien managed to distract the black bear while Dione and Gunmar fought the brown bears. Dione hid in the shadows and attacked on with bows and arrows. When the bear gave up on her and tried attacking Gunmar, she jumped the bear and drew an ebony dagger. She stabbed it repeatedly before it collapsed. Gunmar jumped out of the way of a swipe and brought his steel axe down on his bear's neck. They then helped Lucien dispatch the black bear. Gunmar knelt beside it.

"What is a black bear doing all the way up here in Skyrim?" he wondered.

"I know; they usually live in the Great Forest and Colovian Highlands in Cyrodiil," Dione agreed. She went work declawing the bears while Gunmar skinned and butchered them. That which couldn't be used was tossed out and away from Ivarrstead and the road to keep beast from straying too close. After their work was done, they unloaded some of the meat and fur to the locals for the coming winter and stayed the night.

* * *

 _The Reach Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 17_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

She wasn't sure when it would be just the two of them again, so they had time to talk. They sat in the remains of an old farmhouse along the road between Whiterun and Rorikstead, taking a break from the ride to eat a light lunch. Their journey since Ivarrstead had been fast and uninterrupted, thanks in part to not having to slow down for others. Not to mention, Allie seldom needed a break and she was mostly kept to a canter.

"So, what next?" Belinda asked Karr, getting his attention.

"I assume we'll head back to Dawnguard with Sorine and-."

"I meant us." She fidgeted. "We had a student-teacher relationship since I was old enough to walk, then you disappeared for almost a decade, and now you're back and we've been acting like you were never gone and I know who I am and who she was to you and so I ask: Where are we going from here?" She and Karr looked one another in the eye, though he only saw her through the magic within her.

"Do you want it to go somewhere?" he asked, eyes unblinking.

"I…don't really know," Belinda answered, fidgeting still. "I'm still just a teenager and I guess you want me to do some more growing before anything happens and to make a relationship less creepy?"

"I think that would be wise," Karr agreed, tugging a crust of bread. "I still remember when you were a small child afraid of the dark. You weren't afraid of the night, just the dark."

"Night and Dark are different things," Belinda pointed out. "One doesn't make noise." She finished the taffy she was eating and stood. "Anyway, I think we should get going again."

They rode off. Karr had torn up the rest of his bread and scattered it about for birds. They chatted every so often, usually when she stopped to take a break from their journey. On the seventeenth of Heartfire, they arrived at Sorine Jurard's camp. They founded a tent, a large dapple grey horse, and an assortment of Dwemer scraps. The structure just came to Belinda's waist and there was the jeweled chest Dione had called a Convector. Yet, there were no Sorine.

"I see a horse, a tent, and research mats," Belinda told Karr. "What do _you_ see?"

Karr opened his eyes to their surroundings. Flowers, crags, juniper trees, a flowing river, Dwemer magic, Forsworn across the river, a Frost Dragon flying overhead, the horse, and Sorine a little up the river. He conveyed Sorine's whereabouts to Belinda. "She's probably just fetching water," he added. "Probably best to just wait. Belinda nodded. She leaned against Allie and watched the dragon until Sorine returned.

"Who are you two?" she asked, setting down a bucket of water.

Belinda turned to her. "Belinda Scale, and this is my mentor Karr Ivorring," she answered.

Sorine nodded. "Now why are you here?"

"How did your partnership with Isran end?" Belinda retorted.

"Horribly; bastard said some hurtful things to me," Sorine responded. "Lemme guess: His stupid pride got him on the sharp end of a vampire's fangs?"

Belinda snorted. "Wow. Then there is a high chance you won't come with us to Fort Dawnguard?" she asked.

"He wants to see me?" Sorine was trying not to look all excited.

"Yeah; he needs your help," Belinda answered.

Sorine's eyes went wide. "Do tell."

"Well, the regional vampire clan, Volkihar, has been getting rather bitchy lately," Belinda explained. "What's worse, they've gotten ahold of an Elder Scroll."

"Oh, that is _very_ bad," Sorine muttered.

"Yeah, and Vampires have managed to get into Dayspring Canyon where Fort Dawnguard is," Belinda added, now starting to shift weight from foot to foot.

"I'll go, but…"

"You need help with something?" Belinda asked. She had been waiting for it.

"I misplaced my satchel full of Dwemer gyros," Sorine answered. "I need them for research. Even just one whole, intact gyro will be enough."

"I can find the whole satchel," Karr pointed out, dismounting the horse. He removed one of his ears, one that was a chain with a crystal pendulum. He focused on Sorine's energy, drawing on it and letting it guide his path to the satchel. Belinda followed and soon picked up the satchel. They returned it to Sorine.

"Thank you," she told them. "I just need to wrap up a few things and pack up my gear."


	8. Chapter 8: Troubles in Riften

_Dayspring Canyon, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 23_ _rd_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

It took a while for them to return. They met back up in Riften where Dione was immediately distracted by Thieves Guild business and said she would catch up later. At Fort Dawnguard, they saw barricades and reinforcements had been made to repel further attacks on the fort. Sorine and Gunmar were impressed by the passion and dedication to improve the structure. The farmer and his sons were working on the farm while the little girl was playing. Grete was waiting for them at the door. She was shifting nervously.

"Something wrong Grete?" Belinda asked.

"Oh, Isran is not happy," Grete answered.

"Oh, shocker," Belinda groaned.

"Mostly because the vampire from Dimhollow is here," Grete pointed out.

"Serena's here?" Belinda asked, eyes widening a tad.

"She walked up during my shift and raised a white flag," Grete explained. "She said she wanted to talk to you because she believes you'll hear her out. She even brought the elder scroll with her."

Belinda sighed. "At least we have that now," she said. She had been worried about giving Serena and the elder scroll to Harkon ever since she met the man. He rubbed her in all the wrong ways, and didn't seem really fatherly at all. He barely acknowledged Serena. _Couldn't even take a fucking joke,_ she thought. "Is Serena okay though?" she asked.

"She's unharmed, though I doubt that she'll stay that way for very long, especially if she tries Isran's patience," Grete answered. She groaned. "Whelp, let's get inside before Isran has a cow."

They entered the entry hall of the fort, the doors sealing behind them and gates rising, cutting them off from the rest of the fort. A bright light shone. Everyone who knew about the vampire trap shut their eyes. Sorine and Gunmar were briefly blinded by the light and they cursed loudly.

"What in Oblivion, Isran!" Sorine snapped, rubbing her eyes. She looked up at Isran on the balcony above.

"Can't be too careful; you might be vampires," Isran responded, looking back at her.

" _If that is his idea of apologizing, I'll bitchslap him with a vampire,"_ Belinda mentally told Lucien, who responded with a chuckle.

"Alright, there are large areas set up for you both," Isran told them. "Gunmar, let's round up some trolls. Sorine, you can get started on that new Dwemer crossbow design of yours. There's a small Dwemer ruin half a day northwest of Riften. I had some of the people get as much Dwemer scrap and parts as possible." Then he turned to Belinda. "And you: A vampire showed up wanting to talk to you, assuming Grete hasn't already told you."

"No, I was completely oblivious to the situation," Belinda responded, rolling her eyes, heading to her right to go up the spiral staircase. Lucien followed while the others waited downstairs. Isran led them to what looked like a torture chamber. It certainly smelt bad enough to be one, complete with old blood stains on the walls. Serena stood to the side, ignoring her surroundings except for Astral, who stood watch over her.

She looked up. "Hey," she greeted softly. "Bet you didn't think you'd see me again?"

"I had a gut feeling," Belinda responded. "So, what's up? You took a great risk coming here."

"Yeah, I know," Serena agreed, "but something told me I could trust you." She shifted weight from one foot to the other. "I'm sure you realized by now that my father isn't a good person, even by Vampire standards."

"Would you be offended if I said he wanted to punch him in the dick if I knew whether or not it would actually hurt him?" Belinda retorted.

Serena giggled, but quickly reined in her emotions. "No, not at all." She looked down. Belinda got a good read on her, and Lucien mentally asked what she thought.

" _She's not used to showing emotion; which means she's been excessively controlled for most of her life,"_ Belinda answered to him, eyes shifting to look down at the lynx. _"It's clear she's a noblewoman as well."_

" _Good assessment,"_ Lucien replied.

"Anyway," Serena began, "the reason he wanted the Elder Scroll is because of some half-baked prophecy he found a long time ago. Like all prophecies, it was vague and pointless, but ultimately boiled down to 'ending the tyranny of the sun.'"

"Was you father high on Skooma when he became a vampire?" Belinda asked, blinking. She could tell Isran looked ready to have a stroke.

"Considering he sacrificed a thousand innocents to Molag Bal to become an insanely powerful vampire, what do you think?" Serena retorted. She sighed. "To be honest, I've questioned that myself."

"Well, I got the crazy cult thing right," Belinda pointed out.

Serena inhaled, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"Come on, let the uncontrollable laughing out."

Serena did indeed laugh. Isran looked so painfully uncomfortable, as did Grete and Ralof, who had come to join them. It was like no one had ever seen a vampire laugh like this before. Soon, Serena calmed down.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"Why? Because you laugh at my incredibly dry and sarcastic sense of humor?" Belinda asked. "Never apologize for feeling genuine joy."

Serena nodded, and then returned to her serious state. "Right. Well," she muttered. She sighed again. "The Elder Scroll I have supposedly spoke of the prophecy, yet it was never properly read. My father was in the process of arranging for a Moth Priest to come and read it. Of course, my mother and I didn't feel like inviting a war to our doorstep and hid me away. My mother, apparently, disappeared off the face of Nirn. Knowing my father, he's likely turned over every stone trying to find her. But he has thus far failed."

Belinda nodded. "Then I think it's safe to say that's a very good thing," she stated. "I get a feeling we'll find her first." She looked to the scroll. "We need to know what that scroll says." She looked to Isran. "Do you know if any Moth Priests have shown up in Skyrim recently?"

"I don't," he responded. "But if there is one in Skyrim, they'll likely looking for an Elder Scroll. The best places to ask would be one of the travelling Khajiit caravans or the inns across Skyrim."

"Otherwise, we could ask the College of Winterhold," Serena added. "That's where I would go."

Belinda twitched at the mention of Winterhold College, and went to the balcony outside the room. "Dione, has anyone mentioned a Moth Priest being in Skyrim lately?" she asked.

Dione looked up. "Yeah; one passed through Riften around a week ago," she answered.

"That can't be a coincidence," Belinda muttered. She turned to the others. "A Moth Priest is in Skyrim; the timing adds up." She looked to Serena. "Do you think your father sent word out already?"

"I know he did," Serena answered. "He didn't hesitate to set events in motion. We need to find the priest before he does."

"Okay, so what now? Why shouldn't I kill the filthy vampire?" Isran demanded.

Belinda turned on her heel to him, glowering. "Because she was very brave in coming here, knowing she'd be surrounded by people who would hate her because of what she is," she responded critically. "Because she openly defied her father? Because she actually gives a damn about the living? Because she's been nothing but polite? Because we need her help? Because for probably the first time in her life, she is taking control and doing what she wants instead of what others want? Or maybe, just maybe, I said _NO_."

"She's got you there," Grete pointed out. "So, let's go find us a priest. Where do we start?" she asked.

"We'll start at The Bee and the Barb in Riften and work our way out from there," Belinda answered. "If we're lucky, there will be a Khajiit caravan outside the city."

"Ahkari's caravan should be arriving in Riften soon!" Dione called up.

"Then let's move out!" Belinda shouted.

* * *

 _Riften, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 23_ _rd_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

The Khajiit Ahkari was helping her group of four set up their camp outside Riften when they saw Belinda and her crew coming. Dione broke away and went up to them.

"Welcome, Dione," Ahkari greeted, voice warm, but slightly hissing. The Khajiit were very feline-like. "Are you here to trade?"

"I'm looking for information," Dione answered.

Ahkari nodded. "Very well." She went and sat on her mat. "What would you like to know?" she asked.

Dione sat cross-legged in front of her. "We're looking for a Moth Priest and I know there's one currently in Skyrim. Have you seen any Imperial caravans lately?" she questioned.

Ahkari's eyes slid close as she went deep into thought. "Yes. We passed them on the road on our way to Riften. They were almost at Windhelm when one of the wheels of their carriage got stuck in a hole. We were able to help lift it up and they thanked us and went on our way. One of the soldiers said they would head for Solitude after Windhelm."

Dione nodded and passed Ahkari a handful of septims. "Thank you for the information. There are some in Skyrim who are after the priest. We need to find them and protect them."

"You are a good woman, Dione," Ahkari stated.

"Thanks." Dione stood and hurried after the others. They were already at the inn and Belinda was talking with Keerava and Talen-Jei. Dione knew they would be easy to bribe for information. They'd been looking to get out of Riften for years. Dione checked her ledger. Next month, they would be square with the guild. She walked over.

"Okay, thanks," Belinda said to the couple, recently married. She turned to Dione. "Okay, so the Moth Priest stayed here with an entourage. Apparently one of the guards is new and likes to talk. They said they were headed for Windhelm to see if the Winterhold mages have a scroll among the many things they salvaged form the college."

"Ahkari said they encountered the Moth Priest and their entourage on the road from Dawnstar," Dione pointed out. "After Windhelm, they plan on heading to Solitude. By the time we arrive in Windhelm, they'll likely have left…"

"But you want to check on your mages?" Belinda asked, raising a brow.

"I do," Dione answered. She was Archmage of Winterhold College, but the Thalmor had devastated the village, slaughtered the Jarl and his family, and had laid siege to the college. Then Belinda and a few Dragons conjured a storm the decimated the Thalmor and Imperial forces there and buried the Jarl's longhouse and the general store. Winterhold had fallen and the college too dangerous to further use. As a result, the people of Winterhold and the mages had to take refuge in Windhelm and Jarl Ulfric had to convert part of the Palace of Kings into a makeshift school for the mages until proper accommodations could be made.

Belinda did feel bad about Winterhold. Her method had clearly been overkill and now it was impossible to so much as reach Winterhold's ruins at all! Serena noticed that no one was talking about Winterhold College. And Belinda had twitched earlier at its mention.

"What's going on with Winterhold College?" she asked.

"Well, I kinda wrecked it," Belinda answered, fidgeting.

Even Karr looked to her. "What did you do?"

"Conjured up a storm, buried half the town, and made the college harder to get to."

Serena bit her lower lip. "Well…"

"Yeah, overkill," Belinda muttered, still fidgeting. "In my defense, I was really aiming for the stupid Thalmor. At least I killed them and sank their ships."

Dione spoke up then. "So now all the Winterhold Mages are currently in Windhelm," she stated.

They planned to stay the night in Riften to eat, rest, and restock on supplies. Dione had Serena stay in Honeyside with Lucien and Astral. Dione herself planned to spend the night in Riftweald Manor with Brynjolf in the master bedroom. The others rented rooms at The Bee and Barb. They all gathered to have dinner at the inn. Keerava served a fine horker stew with a loaf of bread and Black-Briar mead.

"Does Maven even taste her own mead?" Belinda asked Dione quietly.

"No, and she doesn't even drink alcohol," Dione answered quietly.

"Bet that's why it tastes like swill," Belinda muttered.

Dione said nothing, just smiled. She dipped her spoon into her stew. Her mother had prepared a satchel of potions for the journey and Brynjolf planned to accompany them this, complaining he wasn't seeing her as often as he would like and promising to keep her warm on the road. Dione accepted his company in the group.

"Speaking of the wicked witch of Riften," Belinda joked.

Maven Black-Briar and her oldest son, Hemming, walked in. They took a seat. Talen-Jei went over to take their orders. Lucien immediately smelt trouble.

"So, Talen," Hemming started, "have you reconsidered my offer?"

 _Definitely trouble,_ Lucien thought, and the others looked over.

"Sorry Hemming," Talen-Jei apologized. "I have no interest in becoming your valet." He was being very polite.

"What's the matter?" Hemming asked, trying not to show his offense. "I thought you people were used to indentured servitude."

The group saw Talen-Jei using too much energy trying not to lash out. "What. Can. I. Get. You. Two?" he asked slowly, trying to maintain control.

"Steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed carrots, a slice of chocolate cake, and our family's mead," Maven answered. "And don't get an attitude with us either."

"Very well." Talen-Jei went up to Keerava with the order. Keerava groaned and went to the kitchen with the obviously unreasonable order.

"If they want steak so bad, maybe they should eat at home," Belinda growled.

"A little loud, lass," Brynjolf whispered, an arm around Dione's shoulders.

"Pretend I give a shit if the bitch can hear me," Belinda huffed. She could feel Maven's and Hemming's eyes on her, burning into her back. Well, if they were going to pay attention to her, she may as well make a show out of it. The inn had a few people, so she then added, "Maybe if Black-Briar tasted her own swill, it wouldn't be as bitter as her personality."

The mage in the corner coughed up his drink and coughed; the local fisherman and his wife gasped audibly; the battle maiden at the table closest grinned while her companion stared in shock, and Talen-Jei was speechless.

"And clearly she didn't teach her brats how to behave in society if he's making racist comments like that," Belinda added. "Just further proof that money doesn't equal class."

The large Nord standing by the Black-Briars pushed himself off the wall. Dione's eyes went wide. That Nord was Maul, whose brother Dirge served as the lookout for the Ragged Flagon. The brothers were big, scary, and mean, and now Maul was coming over to deal with Belinda. This could go one of two ways-. No, this would only go one way: Belinda was going to break Maul. She looked to Belinda.

"Maven's bodyguard is one of my men's brother. Go easy on him," she groaned.

"Yeah, yeah," Belinda responded, getting up only to be punched across the face. She hit the floor hard.

"You want to apologize now or do I have to throw you in the lake?" Maul demanded.

Belinda got up, face bruised. She turned to Maul. "Why should I? She never apologizes even for being wrong, now does she?" she responded.

Maul threw another punch but Belinda ducked and rolled around behind him. She slammed her foot into his backside and sent him forward into her stew.

"Oh, thanks! That was damn good stew!" she snapped.

Maul got up, fists at the ready. Belinda groaned and got in a fighting stance. He charged at her, throwing back his right arm. She ducked and slammed her left fist into him jaw. She moved to the side, sticking out her right leg to trip him up. She hopped back a bit and glared at him. Keerava came out.

"Hey, no fighting in my inn," she barked.

"Sorry Keerava, but I don't tolerate certain comments," Belinda responded, "and piggish, racist comments are certainly intolerable." She glared at Hemming. "Now, how about you be a real man and defend yours and your mother's honor, punk!"

There were some snickers and chuckles. Hemming glared back and Belinda stared him down.

"I have nothing to prove to you," Hemming scoffed.

"Milkdrinker," Belinda huffed. A few people went "Oooooh." Belinda glared at them. "What are you? Five?" She then went to the counter and paid for her stew, and some extra. "Also, may I have another helping of your stew to go please?"

"Uh, of course," Keerava answered nervously, fetching a bowl of stew.

After having her stew, Belinda paid handsome and left the inn. She knew it would likely be in her best interest if she stayed out of Riften for a while. She sat with the Khajiit and their caravan outside the city walls where she shared her stew and they shared their fondue while listening to their tales of their journey from Elsweyr, through Cyrodiil, and throughout Skyrim. Eventually, Dione came up and pulled Belinda aside.

"You best thank the Nine that the Dark Brotherhood is gone," she told her. "Maven wants your head on a silver platter."

"More likely a diamond-encrusted gold platter," Belinda joked, "but I would assume so. Besides, if whoever she hires is stupid enough to have notes, then Maven and Hemming deserve to be in prison. Hell, tell Hemming if he wants to prove himself, he can come fight me."

Dione nodded. "Are you going to be okay out here tonight?" she asked.

"Yeah," Belinda answered.

Karr came over to them. He sat with Belinda. "I'll keep her safe," he promised.

Dione nodded. "Good night then; I'll see you in the morning." She returned to Riften.

Later that night, Lucien roused her. It was well before dawn. "What time is it?" Belinda asked groggily.

"A quarter to three," he answered.

"Fuck Lu, it's too early," Belinda groaned.

"Yes, but Maven is getting ready to send people out to kill you and Karr," Lucien pointed out.

"I guess I knew that was coming; why can't she wait to try and kill me until morning like a decent person?" Belinda asked, getting up. Karr was already on his feet and readying Queen Alfsigr. The others came out and started getting ready as well. Belinda went up to Dione and asked, "So, how pissed are you?"

"I'm actually not since I've been wanting to tell Maven and her son off since I met them," Dione answered.

"Which would have been a bad idea, Lass," Brynjolf pointed out.

"No kidding sweetheart, but who in Riften actually likes Maven and her Hellspawn?" Dione asked. "Ingun I like and tolerate. Maven, Hemming, and Sibbi can die in a hole."

"I can think of more creative ways to get rid of them," Belinda giggled, getting up on her mare. She pulled Karr up behind her. "But-…" She yawned. "After a few more hours of sleep." She slumped against Karr, dozing off, and they all disappeared into the night…


	9. Chapter 9: Another Prophecy

_Windhelm, Eastmarch Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 24_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

When they finally arrived in Windhelm, the sun was ready to set and the gates were about to close for the night. They made it inside just in time. Due to the increased vampire attacks, the major cities were starting to close the gates after sunset to protect the citizens and guard patrols were triple. Windhelm was no different. Rolf Stone-Fist was outside the inn, swaying drunkenly. Belinda snuck over and tipped him over so that he felt flat on his face. She sprinted away, containing her giggles. Oh, she hated the dirtbag for so many reasons, including making disgusting, derogatory remarks to her friends. So naturally, she was inclined to make his life harder whenever she saw him.

"Was that really necessary?" Karr asked when Belinda rejoined them on the other side of the inn.

"He's a dirtbag," Belinda answered, "and he was probably getting ready to go to the Snow Quarter to yell racist slurs so he probably deserved it. Only thing keeping me from killing him is the fact he's Galmar's brother."

Karr sighed. They went to the Palace of Kings where they were let inside. Ulfric Stormcloak greeted them warmly. Galmar Stone-Fist was out in Markarth helping out with the Forsworn and advising the Jarl there. Belinda made a comment about tipping Rolf the Drunk over. Ulfric chuckled.

"I've told the guards to stand at the entrances to the Snow Quarter to keep him out," he pointed out.

"Smart; next we can work on improving the Snow Quarter so it doesn't look as shitty," Belinda said.

"I recommend speaking with Belyn Hlaalu; he's the community leader and owns Hlaalu Farm," Dione suggested. She looked between the others and sighed. "And the only one I really don't want to hit."

"Thought so," Belinda said.

Dione went to check on her mages. There were new students this year and Tolfdir was teaching them about wards. She smiled. She remembered when, three years ago, she arrived for her first class with Tolfdir. He taught them about wards back then too. She made sure everyone was doing well. After the lessons were done, she pulled Tolfdir aside.

"How is everything going?" she asked.

"About as well as can be expected with such a restricted space," Tolfdir answered. "If we could get Winterhold back, that would be fair more agreeable."

"Yeah, I know," Dione agreed, sighing. "And of course, we can't really do much about it now." The weather was picking up there, and soon the road to Winterhold would be impassable. There was no way they could get builders out there and help them survive the winter. "Then there's the growing vampire problems. They're attacking people on the streets and the major cities have to close their gates at sunset."

"The people and guards have been talking," Tolfdir pointed out. "They're saying it's the end times."

"People thought Alduin was the End Times, people thought the Great War was the End Times, people thought the Moons disappearing were the End Times, and people thought the Oblivion Crisis was the End Times," Dione groaned. "Of course, someone always seems to stop the inevitable end from happening, so why would it be any different here. People need to stop having panic attacks over every stupid thing that happens."

Tolfdir nodded.

Meanwhile, Belinda was asking about the Moth Priest seen in Skyrim. "He may be in serious danger," she told Ulfric.

"Yes; he came here to consult the mages," Ulfric answered. "He claimed someone had written him that there was an Elder Scroll in Skyrim. I mentioned you had one. He went to Whiterun, since you had a residence there. If you weren't home, he would proceed to Solitude. If I saw you before he did, I was to refer you to him."

"Okay then." Belinda gave a nod. "I guess he'll want to see my Elder Scroll."

"Wait, you have an Elder Scroll?" Serena asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah; I have it hidden in my house in Whiterun," Belinda answered. "Lucien has been trying to find a way to properly read it."

"A stupid idea considering reading Elder Scrolls eventually makes you go blind," Karr pointed out.

"Shut up," Lucien huffed.

"If we head out to Whiterun first thing, we might still be able to catch up with him there," Belinda stated, fiddling with the end of her braid. "But I highly doubt it. If anything, we probably still a couple days behind him."

"Well, can I count on you to stay the night?" Ulfric asked, smiling.

"Considering the gates are close and we've been up since like three in the morning, yes please and thank you," Belinda responded.

Ulfric called to the kitchen to have a late meal prepared and had the servants prepare a room. Then he went and got two boxes from the war room. "These are late birthday presents from Galmar and me," he told her.

"Thank you," Belinda replied, accepting the gifts. She opened the one from Galmar and pulled out a mantle made of wolf fur. It was soft and fluffy and a pale silver. It came with round, silver clips adorned with amethysts and a chain connecting clips. The box from Ulfric contained beads, gems, animal bones and teeth, and jewelry wire. There was even a chatelaine. She knew what he intended. She had told Ulfric what he power was. She was to put it together her way and use it to store magic. It was genius. She smiled. "Thank you. I can't wait to put this together…"

* * *

 _Whiterun, Whiterun Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 26_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

They did indeed miss the Moth Priest. Vilkas handed her the note from the priest. Belinda sighed wearily, grabbing her Elder Scroll. Since she was in town though, it was the best opportunity to put together her strings of gem and crystal beads for her mantle. Fralia and Eorlund held her, teaching her how to jewel. She actually really enjoyed making jewelry and felt that it could actually be a real hobby of hers. Sieghard came out to see her, little Kodlak in his arms. Belinda was taking a break went to snuggle the baby, making silly faces and getting laughs from the child. Fralia came and fussed over the boy as well. "Oooh, a baby!" Sieghard smelt the vampire before seeing her as Serena came over and fawned over Kodlak. This made Sieghard tense. Surely Belinda would get protective of his son…But she was letting Serena see. She clearly knew what Serena was!

"Um, Belinda," Sieghard started.

"Oh, it's fine Sieghard," she assured.

After the fussing under Sieghard's watchful eye, Kodlak was returned to him and he took the baby back inside. Belinda resumed her lesson until dinner and she and the others went inside Jorrvaskr. The Circle viewed Serena with suspicion, but Belinda reassured them that Serena was a safe. Serena just sat in a corner, nervous about being around werewolves. Farkas decided to give her the time of day. He was the nice one after all.

"So, what's being a vampire like?" he asked.

"Sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's not, and other times, I just don't feel like crawling out the coffin," she answered, "she it's really like being a normal person accept I need to consume blood to survive and I'm physically strong, have better eyesight, and I get sunburn easily. Not to mention the weakness to silver."

"Does garlic do anything to you?" Farkas asked.

"I don't know where people got that nonsense from," Serena answered. "One vampire happened to be allergic to garlic in life and suddenly all vampire hunters decide to have their breath smelling like garlic to ward us off. It does work, but we're still offended by the smelly breath."

Belinda laughed. "I _swear_ that's exactly what happened!" she said.

Serena chuckled.

"You have a cute laugh," Farkas complimented.

Serena stopped and blushed. She gave a thin smile in response. "Thank you," she responded.

* * *

 _Forebear's Holdout, Haafingar Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 28_ _th_ _of Heartfire, 4E202_

They headed out the next morning, Belinda's mantle hanging proudly on her shoulders and connected with a chain and two strings of gems and crystals and her chatelaine. The chatelaine held her key to Breezehome, a corked bottle of gemstone dust, and a Skysteel hunting knife in a lovely sheath. She felt really fancy, being adorned by such finery. It was a wonderful gift and so soft too!

"Hey, don't forget how soft and fluffy I am," Lucien grumbled.

"Jealous much?" Belinda asked.

He huffed, pretending not to be jealous, but he only succeeded in making himself look like a pretentious ass. Belinda snickered at him. Karr grinned. The others chuckled as well. As they started approaching Dragon's Bridge, Lucien smelt blood in the air. The group stopped, the horses shifting nervously and pawing the ground. Serena smelt the blood too. They then spotted a wagon with a dead horse and three dead Imperial Legionnaires, all drained of blood and blood splatter around. Lucien sniffed out the trail all the way to a cave where everyone dismounted their horses and drew weapons.

They slipped inside the cave and saw a magical barrier swirling around a person and at the top of some ruins that had been built in the cave. They could also see gargoyles perched on ledges, watching the area. They still made everyone nervous, as if at any pointed they would spring to life and attack. A few vampires and thralls patrolled the area, watching and waiting to see if anyone dared to rescue the Moth Priest. Lucien spotted two Death Hounds patrolling close by and pointed them out to the others. Dione drew an arrow and took aim. She shot the closer one in the head. The other one didn't seem to notice. She then dispatched the other. They moved down and across the stream that flowed across the cavern, trying to keep their footfalls silent.

At the foot of the stairs leading to the top level were three vampires and four thralls consisting of two large Nord bandits, a Bosmer archer, and Breton mage. Dione took out another arrow, contemplating who first to shoot. She wanted to take out someone who would be problematic but was just away enough from the others that killing them wouldn't get the others' attentions. She looked to Lucien, who nodded and then reached out with his mind. Aside from the vampires and their thralls presented before them, there was two more vampires on the upper level and the Moth Priest. The other two vampires were working to break the Priest's mind. Lucien would not let that happen and quickly rose more barriers around the Priest's mind to protect him from the vampires. The two were taken aback and knew someone had entered the cavern. Someone very powerful.

" _Everyone, get ready; I'm going to protect the Priest's mind,"_ Lucien told them. He no longer had the power to multitask like he used to. He had to stay still and hidden to do this.

It was time for Dione to make a decision. _The mage,_ she decided, and shot the Breton mage in the neck. The two vampires from upstairs came down and they and the rest of the enemies drew weapons and readied spells. The Bosmer ran back and drew their bow and an arrow. He shot at Dione, the two of them having a deadly sniper battle. Grete charged a vampire, silver sword ready. One of the vampires, this one female and once a Dunmer, drew a sword to block her. Their swords clashed, sparks flying and the blades ringing. Belinda charged in at the Nord thrall. She was much bigger than her and wielded a warhammer the size of a child. Belinda jumped out of the way as the Nord brought her hammer down. It shattered the stone where Belinda previously stood, and then the Nord brought it up to swing at Belinda's head. She ducked and lashed up, stabbing the Nord in the side. Naturally, this didn't bring the Nord down. The less bulky Nord charged at Belinda with a sword and shield; Karr came in and defended her with his scythe.

"Funny thing about thralls: They have a very one-track mindset," he pointed out, kicking the thrall in the gut. "Belinda; I'll trade you."

"Good idea," Belinda agreed as she dodged the warhammer again. The Nord had aimed at her legs, so she jumped up, grabbed the bottom of Karr's scythe, and let him catapult her over him. She landed clumsily, slipping and falling onto her back. The sword and shield Nord was already on his feet while Karr spun to swing the blade of his scythe at the warhammer Nord, he barely grazed her. The sword and shield Nord thrust his sword down at Belinda's face and she rolled to the right, getting back onto her feet. The sword and shield Nord came at her, swinging his blade at her again. She blocked quickly, waiting for an opening annnnd…THERE! She knelt swiftly and ran her sword through the Nord's chest. He tried to get her, but Belinda jumped back to her feet and shoved him off her sword. He fell clumsily to the ground and she quickly went in and finished him off.

Karr managed to lock the warhammer Nord, and they were pushing and shoving on each other, trying to unlock their weapons. She kicking his legs; she was wearing steel boots! Karr fell over in the pain and the Nord freed her hammer. She raised it to smash his chest in. That's when Lucien came bounding over and leapt at the woman, getting her by the neck. The Nord gave out a strangled cry and tried to get Lucien off. Karr then pulled out a knife he kept in his boot and stabbed the Nord's leg, making her fall over. He then stabbed her head and finished her off. That's when Lucien let go of her.

Grete was fighting hard against the vampire. Astral, Brynjolf, Ralof, and Serena were keeping the other vampires off her, but of course they were still outnumbered. It was five vampires and one was coming up behind her! Dione dodged an arrow from the Bosmer, getting a cut across the face. She hissed in pain, covering her cheek. Grete dropped down to her hands and knees swiftly as her opponent charged, rolling to trip the vampire. He fell flat on his face and she jumped on him and stabbed him in the back of the head.

At this point, Ralof was bleeding heavily from a cut on his arm from his opponent. Lucien bounded over, finished helping Karr, and bit the vampire's leg, hard. The vampire gave a blood curdling shout and was about to kick the lynx when Ralof came in with his axes and cleaved her head off. Serena revived the dead thralls to overpower and rip apart her opponent while Astral and Brynjolf managed to dance around their opponents, moving swiftly and leaving multiple stabs. Finally, the vampires couldn't take it and collapsed. Astral then stole their opponent's life essence, gaining several _months_ ' worth of life. The Bosmer thrall then broke free of the vampires' spell and blinked, confused. He stood, exposing himself. Dione groaned and just shot him in the head.

"Lucien, what about the priest?" Belinda asked.

"He's fine," Lucien answered, "just shaken."

She nodded. "Right." She then turned to Karr. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine; you?"

"I'm good."

"Ralof's hurt," Karr reported.

Belinda went to help Ralof mend his arm. Grete and Lucien went upstairs to the Moth Priest, who flinched at their approach. Grete touched the barrier. It was cold and felt draining. She pulled her hand away. Dione came up with a keystone and put it in a lock. The barrier dissipated. The Moth Priest looked around nervously.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"We're the Dawnguard," Grete answered.

"The order of vampire hunters?" the priest asked. "I've done some light reading on them." He looked between them. "Do you know what the vampires wanted?" he asked.

"For the same reason we need your help," Grete answered. "They had an Elder Scroll, but now the Dawnguard has it. We need to know more about this obscure prophecy that has the Volkihar clan riled up."

"What is the prophecy?" the Priest asked.

"Something about 'ending the tyranny of the sun,'" Grete answered.

* * *

 _Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 3_ _rd_ _of Frostfall, 4E202_

A chill was starting to settle over the southern parts of Skyrim. Soon, the road to the abandoned village of Winterhold would be impassable. The brown bears would begin to hibernate. The Birch Forest of the Rift would lose their leaves and the Spriggans' work on their sacred groves would consume more of their time. The Forsworn would be busy surviving instead of attacking those who dare traverse the Reach, a land that would become ever the more fraught with peril due to the snow and ice. In Falkreath, the constantly rain would turn to snow. And all the people could do was hope their food stores would last the five bitter months of winter.

Belinda set Lydia to the task of preparing their food stores for the winter while on their way back to Fort Dawnguard. When they arrived at the fort, Isran was speaking to someone familiar. The tall man she and Grete had met outside of Helgan. The man walked off and the two went to Isran.

"How long has he been here?" Grete asked.

"Since the day before your last visit," Isran answered. "His name is Odric; former Vigilant of Stendarr from Cyrodiil. Like us, he became disillusioned with them for not taking werebeasts seriously after losing his wife and son to a werewolf."

Belinda fidgeted at that. Sieghard, Aela, Vilkas, and Farkas were werewolves, but they had control over themselves. However, not all werebeasts did, which was a tragic fact that led to the deaths and injuries of innocents. She quickly changed the subject. "We've brought the priest," she reported. "This is Dexion Evicus."

The Moth Priest came forward, excited to read the Elder Scroll. "Two Elder Scrolls! This is exciting," he chattered.

"Two? We only have-." Isran fell silent when he saw Belinda had an Elder Scroll as well. "Where did you get that?" he asked.

"I've had this one for almost a year now," Belinda answered. "This scroll taught me the Shout that can make a Dragon fall from the sky."

"You can make a Dragon fall from the sky?" Celann asked, eyes wide. Odric turned at that.

"Yeah, but I don't like using it," Belinda answered. "It makes my throat itch."

Serena handed her scroll to Dexion. "Here."

"Oh, why thank you!" Dexion then unfurled the scroll, saying, "Please, everyone, be quiet; I must concentrate." He unfurled the scroll fully, making those behind him back up out of sight of the scroll. Belinda knew the dangers of reading the scrolls. "I see a vision before me; an image of a great bow! I know this weapon! It's Auriel's Bow!"

People started muttering. Everyone had at least heard of the bow.

"Now a voice whispers," Dexion continued, and an unearthly echo accompanied his voice. **"Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise! In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one…"** Dexion looked weary. "The voice fades and the words are beginning to shimmer and distort, but wait; there is more here. The secret of the bow's power is written elsewhere. I think there is more to the prophecy, recorded in other scrolls." He paused. "Yes, I see them now. Once contains the ancient secrets of the dragon." Belinda looked down at her scroll. "…and the other speaks of the potency of ancient blood." He swayed a little. "My vision dark and I see no more…" He closed the scroll, trembling. "To know the complete prophecy, we must have the other two…scrolls…" He collapsed, Belinda and Isran holding him up.

"Rest old man," Isran said. "You need it."

He and Belinda got Dexion to a bed and laid him down. When they came back, Serena was picking up her Elder Scroll.

"Okay, what now?" Isran asked.

"I think we need to find my mother," Serena answered.


	10. Chapter 10: Bolstering the Ranks

_Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 3_ _rd_ _of Frostfall, 4E202_

"And just where would your mother even be?" Isran asked, irritated. "We don't have the man power to be traipsing all over Skyrim trying to find another filthy thing."

"Isran, if you refer to vampires as its and things again, I'm going to kick you in the dick," Belinda snapped.

Isran glowered at her. "Oh, so you like vampires?" he demanded.

"I like Serena; she been nice, polite, and helpful whereas you've been nothing more than a total dickhead to her," Belinda responded. "At least Gunmar has been courteous enough to just keep his mouth shut and ignore her presence. But holy fucking shit, you are a dickhead! No wonder why no one wants to be around you. You treat them like they're beneath. Sorine told us you said a bunch of nasty, hurtful things to her when you ended your partnership with her. The only reason she, Gunmar, and Grete are here is because the situation is bad. And Serena is here because she believes we can help her because her father has finally lost his gods damned mind!" She looked around. "Have I left anything out?!" she asked the others.

"No, I think that pretty much covers it," Sorine answered.

Belinda looked back to Isran. "You can't ask for help and then be a dickhead, let alone be a dickhead to people who just want to help."

Isran growled. "Fine." He turned to Serena. "I'm sorry for being dickhead to," he growled.

"Apology accepted," Serena responded.

Isran walked off grumbling. Gunmar and Sorine turned to Belinda. The latter said, "You seem to have a talent for getting the stubborn to be more cooperative."

"Thanks," Belinda responded.

"Personally, I'm not comfortable working with a vampire," Gunmar stated.

"My concern is stopping my father, not the comfort of others," Serena pointed out. She turned to Belinda then. "And thank you for standing up for me." She had smiled and went off to sit. Belinda caught a sad look in her eyes and cocked her head.

"Am I the only one who saw how sad she looked?" she asked.

"For a moment, she looked Human," Gunmar answered.

Belinda whapped him on the head. "She still is, stupid. Just because you become and vampire or a werebeast, doesn't mean you stop being Human, or an Elf, or an Argonian or Khajiit. Vampirism and Lycanthropy are just additions to who and what you are, and it's sad when you can't control any of it, especially when it leads to the pain of others." She walked away from them and went to see Serena, who was sitting by the fire in the mess hall. "You okay?" she asked.

"I will be," Serena answered, watching the flames dance.

"Thinking about your mom?"

"Yeah. The last time I saw her, she was sealing me away," Serena explained, closing her eyes. "We were close, though I think sometimes I was more of a protégé to her than an actual daughter. But we shared everything. In fact, there's a courtyard that she tended to everyday. I helped her with it. It had plants found all over Skyrim…" She remembered how bright and colorful it was. "There was always butterflies, bees, and moths fluttering around and the moon dial…" Her eyes opened. "I think I know where my mother is."

"This courtyard?" Belinda asked.

"She had said she would be where my father would never be able to find her," Serena answered. "Why would my father search his own castle for her? He probably assumed she would try to put as much distance between them as possible. But no, Father has access to the courtyard. He hated it there, claimed it was too peaceful. Of course, the courtyard is the best place to start."

Belinda agreed. She saw Sorine and Gunmar talking quietly. Grete went up to them. "What are you two whispering about?" she asked.

"Well…" Sorine started. "Remember Florentius Baenius?"

"I do; what about him?" Grete asked, raising a brow.

"With how serious the situation is, we think he could be very helpful," Sorine answered.

"Are you insane? Isran will never go for it," Grete exclaimed, looking between the two.

"Maybe you could convince Belinda to talk to Isran?" Sorine suggested. "She's able to get on his level and knock him down a peg. Seriously, I have never seen anyone able to knock Isran off his high horse, let alone get him to apologize to someone, and a vampire at that!"

"That is true," Grete agreed. "Okay, I'll talk to her about it…" She went over to Belinda and Serena. "Belinda, can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Sure; shoot." Belinda looked up to her.

"Can you convince Isran to let us recruit Florentius Baenius?" Grete asked.

"Who is he and what did he do to piss of Isran?" Belinda responded.

"How much did you hear?" Grete asked.

"I just heard a bunch of whispering and you saying 'Isran will never go for it,'" Belinda answered. "That's all I needed to hear to know Isran really doesn't like this guy."

Grete groaned. "Right. Florentius is…touched by the gods," she started.

"So he's an oracle then?" Belinda asked.

"I guess that's the world for it," Grete answered. "He was a priest of Arkay, but his communes irritated everyone. Now he's a traveling oracle. I have no clue where he is, but I think Isran might know.

"So we have to find Valerica and now this Florentius?" Belinda asked. "Sounds like a breeze."

Grete nodded. "I think we're splitting up again?" she thought aloud.

Belinda groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Aye…" She thought about it for a moment. "I'm thinking you, Dione, Brynjolf, and Astral go look for Florentius. Karr, Lu, and I will go with Serena to find Valerica. Ralof can stay here and help people." She thought about it again. "Yes, the groups sound good. If we're lucky, we should be able to meet back here in a week."

Grete nodded and led Belinda to Isran. The man was skulking. He looked up at their approach and asked, "What now?"

"Florentius Baenius," Belinda answered.

"No, no, no, and no," Isran snapped. He looked at Grete. "Who put you two up to this? Sorine? Gunmar? I'd have thought they learned their lessons by now."

"Yes, but I fear it's time to face facts; he'll be helpful here," Grete pointed out. "We need Arkay's help, and for that, we need Florentius."

Isran growled. "If he can maintain some normalcy, I'll allow him to stay…"

"Isn't that just asking for too much," Grete sighed. "I'll be taking a group to go find him. The others will go search for Serena's mother. Now, I need to know where he is."

* * *

 _Ruunvald, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 5_ _th_ _of Frostfall, 4E202_

 _Of course,_ Grete thought as she learned where Florentius would be. _Gods forbid that Florentius should be someplace easy like a town or a farm or even on the side of the road! No, he's got to be in some ancient Nordic ruin with the Vigilant of Stendarr!_ She looked down at her map. They were at the right mountain, and in the side of said mountain at its base was a door that was barred from the other side, much to her annoyance. She and the others began searching for a path to the main entrance into the ruins.

 _And of course, it couldn't be easy either,_ she thought.

"You okay?" Astral asked, appearing concerned despite showing no emotion. Maybe it was their tone of voice.

Grete groaned. "I'm fine, just annoyed with Florentius," she answered. "I mean, I actually trusted him more than Isran did, but…Oracles have a bad reputation. They're usually not very sound of mind."

"I see," Astral responded. They understood. Suddenly, there was a strange flash of red in their eyes, making Grete flinch. "Now that feels interesting…" They looked toward the mountain. "I feel a powerful enchantment, one meant to charm others."

"Is it a vampire?" Brynjolf asked, turning to them.

"I do not sense a vampire," Astral answered. "I only sense the living." It was them that found the path to the tiny camp outside the entrance into the excavation site. From there, they got a better read on what was inside. "Still no vampires. Only the living within, but they've been charmed by a greater power. There are also dogs inside, but they are not charmed. They're simply following their masters."

"Of course Florentius is in some trouble," Grete sighed. "If the people inside are charmed, would it be safe to say that we can just walk right by them and they won't notice a thing?" she asked Astral.

They shook their head. "I cannot say," they answered.

"One way to find out," Brynjolf pointed out. "We walk by casually and see what they do."

"I'm with Brynjolf on this," Dione agreed, nodding. "Astral's empathy can only extend so far. We should have brought meats to dissuade the dogs at least if their masters attack us. The dogs will merely follow suit."

"If they're Vigilant dogs, nothing will dissuade them," Grete sighed. She would know. The Vigilant of Stendarr bred and raised their dogs to be powerful, loyal animals able to hunt Vampires, Werebeasts, Daedra, Undead, rogue wizards, and necromancers. They were trained to be merciless in the mission of their masters. She had seen a trio of dogs rip a Scamp to pieces.

Dione crouched down and slipped into the shadows. She disappeared from the others' views. She entered the cave and watched. She saw the aura of the spell that held the Vigilants. A dog patrolled. She readied arrow, calculated her shot, and fired. The dog dropped, looking asleep. It was a terrible thing. Neither of the charmed Vigilants noticed, too busy with their work. She struck one of them and then the other. She dropped down and explored a little deeper. She remembered cave on City Isle, just along its coast from the Waterfront District. Her Ma had taken a bounty from the city watch to clear the cave of bandits and Dione went with her. She was handed a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a dagger.

"They'll rape or kill you if given the chance," Ma had told her. " _Never_ give them that chance."

And Dione never did. She still kept the dagger her Ma had given her that day. It was made of ebony with swirling carvings filled with lilac enamel and an edge of silver. The guard and hilt took the shape of a nightingale. Dione had asked her Ma and Mother what the nightingale symbolized; they responded with "Enthir called you a nightingale." Now she knew what it meant. The pummel was a small, simple sphere of onyx and her mother enchanted it transfer mana and life energy from her enemy to her. She never used the knife, partly because no one ever got close enough to her, partly because she had her father's saber and her mom's bow, and partly because it was simply too beautiful a weapon to use.

 _So what does that make Nocturnal to me?_ Dione asked herself. _Matron._ Once she established a safe zone, she went to get the others. "Okay, the first couple chambers are clear," she told them.

"See Lass? I told you she would be fine on her own," Brynjolf pointed out to Grete.

"You're right," Grete agreed. She turned to Dione. "You were just taking a little too long for comfort."

"Sorry; but I like to be efficient when I work," Dione said, "and I didn't want to give anyone a chance to spot me. Ma always said to never give the enemy a chance."

The others nodded and they all proceeded into the cave. Grete found a couple journals throughout the cave penned by Modric Sidrey, and with each one and each charmed Vigilant they slew, she became increasingly concerned about this Minorne. Who was she? How powerful was she really? She was able to charm several Vigilants. Astral sensed her growing anxiety as they arrived at the entrance to the ancient Nordic temple.

"What's wrong?" they asked, readying their dagger to fight the charmed Vigilants that occupied the chamber below.

"This Minorne person Modric keeps rambling about in his journals," Grete answered, drawing her sword. "This is unnerving. Based on the name, it's safe to assume they're Altmer at least."

"Agreed," Dione stated, moving to a ledge and melding in with the shadows. She drew her bow and readied an arrow while Brynjolf drew his twin daggers.

"Do you think they're a Thalmor agent?" Grete asked.

"If they are, then we'll deal with them the same way we deal with every other Thalmor," Dione answered, aiming for a Vigilant standing guard at the door to the temple. Her arrow brought the attention of several Vigilants and a few dogs. "Crap…This is more people than I counted on."

"We've handled larger numbers and more vicious enemies," Brynjolf assured, looking to her.

Dione nodded, and loading another arrow to her bow. She picked another Vigilant and fired. The Vigilant yelled, collapsing. The Vigilants drew their weapons and scattered. Their dogs followed, barking and growling. Brynjolf jumped down onto a lower ledge and ran one of the Vigilants through. Grete and Astral met a group of the Vigilants on the bridge, which wasn't very sturdy as far as they knew. Two dogs came charging at them and Grete brought up her shield to bash one and threw it over the side of the bridge. Astral grabbed the other as it tried to bite at their face. The dog soon died in their hold and they set the poor dog down respectfully. Then the Vigilants charged in with their maces.

Astral ducked low while Grete met the enemy head-on. She charged in, bringing up her shield in front of her and slammed into a tall Orc and brought her sword up between the shield and the orc. The blade went up through him at an angle. She pulled away just in time to block a mace. It was sharper than the other maces and punched a hole through the shield. _I knew I should have gotten a better shield,_ she thought, struggling with the Vigilant. He, being a Cyrodiilic man, was trying to dislodge his mace while Grete was trying to get an opening to strike. A Bosmeri Vigilant came in, swinging her mace with two hands to catch Grete in the side. An arrow got her in the eye and she lost her footing, dropping her mace. The loss of her momentum sent her over the side of the bridge. Grete managed to yank her shield down to punch the Cyrodiilic in the face. She felt the crunch of bone and saw blood pour from his nose. This time, a large male Nord came in with two maces and was bringing them around Grete's head. She ducked and slammed into him with her busted shield. One of the spikes on the mace lodged in the shield stabbed the Nord and he fell, taking her with him. She cursed and pulled her arm free of the shield to see Astral grab a male Breton Vigilant by the face and drain his energy. They had taken out a few Vigilants, all of them dead and ashen. The Cyrodiilic man with the broken nose straightened up. He drew a dagger and came in fast and hard. Grete managed to deflect several blows, but this man was fast and left a few cuts on her. Finally, she managed to get in an opening and kicked him in the knee. Then she finished him off. Astral look and her exchanged looks.

"You've gotten faster," she commented.

"I've had the summer to train, Sweetie," Astral responded.

Down below, Brynjolf was fight two Breton Vigilants, but not for much longer. Dione dropped down to join him, her father's sword in hand. The couple charged, Brynjolf going for the taller of the Bretons for a fair fight. Except, Brynjolf was a man who didn't know what a fair fight was. He was a thief; he played dirty. He jumped to his opponent's side, ducking under his blade and roll behind him. Brynjolf had grabbed a handful of dirt, and when the Vigilant turned to him, he threw the wad of dirt into the Vigilant's face. The Vigilant yelled in alarm and stinging pain, trying to clear his eyes. That was when Brynjolf jumped at him, kicking him in the chest and sending him into the wall. The Vigilant collapsed, struggling to get up and clear his eyes. A knife got him in the head and finished him off.

Meanwhile, Dione tried to make quick work of the other Breton Vigilant, making several quick jabs with her saber. The Breton was fast, and a skilled healer. Every time Dione managed to land a cut, it would quickly be healed. As the Breton healed himself with his left hand and parry Dione's saber with his steel short sword. _This guy is fast,_ she thought irritably. She then focused on continuing her attack while keeping an eye on the Breton's feet. His footwork was perfect, almost like… _No, he's fucking dead,_ she thought. Had this Breton been a thief before becoming a Vigilant. _It would explain his footwork,_ she thought. She saw Astral and Grete finish on top, but that left her open and the Vigilant stabbed fast. He got her in the shoulder.

"Daedra worshipper," he sneered.

"Yeah, yeah. Your mother had a horse-face," Dione groaned, slamming her knee into the guy's groin. The Breton croaked, falling to the ground. Dione on then struck with a quick stab to the heart. "What an ass…" She covered her wound, making sure to hold the knife in her shoulder steady. She went to sit as Brynjolf jogged over to her.

"Are you okay, Lass?" he asked, checking the wound. Grete and Astral ran down to join them.

"Yeah, just please get the knife out," Dione answered.

Brynjolf nodded and grabbed the knife. Grete held Dione still so he could remove it. He moved swiftly to remove the knife, careful to keep a straight line so as not to cause any more damage. After that, he peeled away her armor to clean the wound and apply a salve to help with the pain. Next, Astral came in and healed it, draining a day and a half of their own life energy to mend the wound.

"Are you sure you're okay doing that all the time?" Dione asked them.

"Of course, Sweetie," Astral replied. "I have plenty of life to give."

"I doubt we have the element of surprise against the Minorne," Grete pointed out, looking around the chamber as Brynjolf quickly patched Dione's armor.

Astral nodded. "I sense she and her remaining servants are preparing to fight us," they stated. "There is one presence I sense who is remaining very calm in this, and he is connected to a greater power."

"Florentius," Grete sighed.

"Lass, your cheek," Brynjolf pointed out, coming over to clean it up.

"Thanks," Grete sighed, letting Brynjolf and Astral tend to it. "Let's take a quick break before we fight Minorne." She went and sat down, taking out her waterskin. She drank deep.

Brynjolf sat with Dione. "You doin' okay, Lass?" he asked.

"You see how that Breton I fought moved?" Dione responded. "It was like he had been a thief before. Any Bretons in the guild who left to become a Vigilant of Stendarr?"

"Just one; good at sneaking; bad at everything else except using a weapon really," Brynjolf explained. "Guess he fit in better with the Vigilant of Stendarr."

Dione nodded tiredly. "Makes sense since Vampires are tricky opponents."

"Tired?" he asked.

"Yeah; must be getting late," Dione answered. "We've been working hard all day."

"Well, it's not over yet," Grete pointed out, picking up a new shield, this one with iron casting around it. It was definitely in better shape than her old one.

The others nodded and readied themselves. They yanked open the doors to the temple where they found Modric, four other Vigilants, a Storm Atronach, two Thalmor soldiers, and Minorne herself. At least there weren't any more dogs. Minorne stood, dressed regally and bringing fire to her hands.

"Well, well, well," she started.

"Ugh, typical clichéd villain intro," Dione groaned. The others stared at her. "What? That's what Belinda would say if she was here right now and you know it."

"True," Grete responded.

"You will respect the great Minorne!" shouted Modric, mace in hand.

"You must have been so easily for her to sway, you faithless dog," Grete snapped. "Your faith in Stendarr had to be pretty weak for you to fall under the spell of some Thalmor bitch's spell."

Modric charged at her, yelling. Minorne gave the order to attack. The Thalmor soldiers each summoned a Flame Atronach. Dione summoned a Storm Atronach of her own to brawl with Minorne's, except hers was better as she had also channeled an ice spell through it. The mass of boulders had a storm of ice and lightning holding it together.

"Just to even the battlefield a little," she pointed out, and ordered her atronach to attack the Thalmor's atronachs. She then ducked into the shadows and put an arrow to her bow. She fired it at one of the soldiers. The ebony arrow punched a hole in the chestplate, making the soldier gasped. The other came at the shadows, swinging her sword of moonstone and mithril. It was enchanted to light the darkness, so Dione couldn't stay hidden for long. The Thalmor soldiers were on her like rapid dogs. She had to parry with her bow and drew an arrow to help attack. She swiped the ebony tip across the injured soldier's cheek while catching the other soldier's enchanted sword in her bow. She managed to get him to swing down and embed the blade into the ground. She then stabbed him in the eye with her arrow, making him release his sword. She delivered a kicked to his chest, ripping out her arrow and notching it to her bowstring. She turned quickly, firing it at the other soldier's head. He fell to the ground. The soldier whose eye she took out charged in, throwing a punch to her cheek. Blood was pouring from his closed eye and he slammed his other fist into her back before kicking her in the stomach. Dione rolled away and onto her feet. She dropped her bow in the process. She charged a spell of fire and lightning and launched it at him. The Thalmor shouted in pain, but charged through her magic to attack. She ducked under his fist and brought up her fist, which she encased in an ice spike. The spike went through the Thalmor's head and knocked off his helm. She removed her ice spike and went to get her bow.

Grete, Astral, and Brynjolf were surrounded by the Vigilants and Modric. _All I need to do is get ahold of one and they're down,_ Astral thought. One of the Vigilants tried to blast them with a fire, calling them an unholy Daedric abomination. Astral quickly raised a ward to protect themself from the blast. The other Vigilants charged in, swinging their weapons. Grete raised her shield and charged into the two on her side. She slammed into their sides, moving between them and then spun and cut into the back of one, and he fell. The other turned and attacked her, cutting across her shield. The wood got a nice cut, but the iron barely had a dent.

 _I need a really good shield,_ she thought.

The Vigilant came at her, sword in one hand and fire in the other. Grete raised her shield to block the flames, but the Vigilant charged to stab. Grete barely managed to parry and got a cut on her left calf. She then slammed her shield into the Vigilant, knocking him off balance and moved so as to run him through. He crumbled in a heap as the other Vigilant finally back onto his feet, blood soaking the back of his robes. He wielded two maces and charged in, attacking with his left mace. Grete brought up her shield to take the blow, but the Vigilant was a really heavy, and he was pushing down on her until she was on her back. _Well, if playing dirty works for everyone else, then it's good enough for me,_ she decided, and kicked him in the crotch. She pushed him off and pinned him down with her shield to dispatch him.

Brynjolf hated being outnumbered, but these two were slow where he was fast and dual-wielded his weapons. He needed an advantage soon, especially since Minorne was coming down to fight, magic in her hands. He saw Astral fighting hand-to-hand and with magic against their opponent and wished they would hurry up-. Astral grabbed their opponent's face and quickly drained them. They then ran behind the other Vigilant and jumped on his back. They drained him, giving Brynjolf the chance to finally focus on Modric.

Modric was fast and zealous in his worship of Minorne and would not forgive their 'blasphemy.' Brynjolf was really annoyed by zealous religious types. At least he wasn't the only one and Modric was still slow as Hell, allowing for Brynjolf to move and dance around him with ease and finish him off. Minorne came up, but then died, an ebony arrow protruding from her head.

"The Thalmor think they're all high and mighty," Dione huffed, "and then mortality bitchslaps them to death."

"That was awful," Brynjolf laughed.

Dione smiled while Grete went to free Florentius. The man was very grateful and was praising them and Arkay for the rescue.

"Yeah, yeah; calm down," Grete groaned. _I bet Belinda and the others are having a blast right now,_ she thought.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!" Belinda exclaimed, seeing the road north of the Throat of the World plagued by a thick fog and clouds of angry thunder, lightning, and snow.

"Looks like the Dragons are having a heated debate," Lucien commented.

"Ugh, whyyyyyyy…?" Belinda groaned.

Why couldn't things just be easy?


	11. Chapter 11: Chasing Echoes

_Castle Volkihar, the Sea of Ghosts  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 15_ _th_ _of Frostfall, 4E202_

So, due to the freak storm likely caused by two or more Dragons having a very dangerous verbal debate, the roads north and east of the Throat of the World were impassable. It would have taken too long to travel back the way they came just to get to the south road (and even then it might also be blocked by the storm), the group decided to take a ship to Dawnstar and then Solitude and then they were go from there. Still, it was an inconvenience and still took time to get around the ice fields, especially around Winterhold, and into Dawnstar's small port. They were holed up in Dawnstar for a day due to a thick fog. No one sailed out of Dawnstar when a fog settled in. After the fog lifted and the night passed, they sailed to Solitude and tried to arrange for someone to sail them into the inlet on the far side of Volkihar Castle's island. An Argonian sailor and his people that knew the waters well were willing to take, for a price. Of course, once they made it to the inlet, they were attacked by Draugr.

 _Skeletons,_ Belinda thought irritably. _Because of course there are. Gods forbid anyone be fucking original for once._ She drew her sword and used Unrelenting Force on the first few Skeletons that came charging at them. The Skeletons went flying into the walls and a couple into the water. _I'm starting to wish we had brought Dione,_ she thought, charging in and blocking a Skeleton's sword. She got behind it and cut it down. Serena used magic to make it stand back up and join them in the fight. Lucien found loose stones and used them to shatter a number of the Skeletons. Karr took out his scythe and cleaved through a group of Skeletons. The inlet was easy to clear of the things. Skeletons weren't exactly hard to kill.

Karr consulted his crystals. "More Skeletons inside. I also see Death Hounds, a giant spider, and I think a vampire. Likely feral."

Belinda groaned. "Just once, I'd like to delve into a dungeon and have it be filled with butterflies," she said.

Karr chuckled. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

Belinda looked to the sailors. "Anyway we can convince you to wait here?" she asked them.

"Ye serious, Lass?" one of the sailors asked. "Place is clearly cursed. "All we can really hope fer is ta not carry the curse back to port."

Belinda groaned and tossed them a few gems she hadn't really planned on using. "Now?" she demanded.

"We'll only wait a day," the sailor answered, picking up a sapphire. "Yer on yer own after that."

"A day is all we'll need," Belinda assured, and she and the others climbed the stairs.

Dust covered everything, with cobwebs aplenty. There were bones strewn about and a quick sniff of the air revealed the scent of fresh blood. The place was surprisingly well lit, despite the prospect of a feral vampire. Serena drew her steel dagger and charged a lightning spell, making Belinda draw her sword. Lucien reached out with his mind and found several Death Hounds.

"Barghests," he hissed, fur standing up.

A pack of snarling Death Hounds came out of the shadows, like little demon. Behind them was an Altmer woman, hair shaved and her skin a pale gold. Her eyes were black instead of gold. She was utterly feral, but still moved with grace.

"This is all the Barghests," Lucien pointed out.

"Should've brought the others," Belinda sighed, and the first hounds leapt at them.

The rest and their vampire mistress attacked then, the Death Hounds snarling and baying horribly. Belinda used her fire breath Shout on the charging hounds, wiping out the weaker members of the pack and making the vampire screech in pain. Serena went after the vampire, attacking her with her lightning spell. Lucien lunged at Death Hound, jumping around it and swiping at its hind legs. Belinda jumped and rolled out of the way, swinging her Dragonbane to leave a deep, lethal cut in one of the hounds. Karr swung his scythe in arc, killing the few that made it to him. Belinda was tackled to the ground, hold the hilt and blade of her sword to keep the hound from biting her face off. Her throat wasn't ready for another Shout and this beast was heavy.

 _Note to self: More arm workouts after this,_ she thought irritably. She took a deep breath and manage a simple: "YOL!" The fire exploded past her lips, hitting the hound right in the face. The Death Hound got off, howling in pain. It was scratching and pawing at its face. Belinda went and ran her sword through it. Serena managed to weaken the vampire enough to finish her off and Lucien controlled a small, sharp stone during his fight go through his opponent's head.

"Okay, anything else nasty?" Lucien asked.

Karr checked. "Still the spider and a few rats to contend with," he confirmed.

Belinda sighed. She looked to Serena, who was looking around. She, too, looked around. The place was a mess of blood and bones. They started walking, Serena occasionally telling them which direction to go and where the levers were.

"Did you come down here often?" Belinda asked.

"Yeah," Serena answered, rubbing her arm. "When I was younger and had nothing better to do. There weren't any rats or spider in here back then. Guess a little vampire girl running around would discourage them."

"'Little vampire girl?' You were a vampire when you were a child?" Belinda asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah," Serena answered. "I still grew up though."

"That much is clear," Belinda said, pulling a lever to lower the first half of a bridge.

They took a left to where the second lever was, killed a few Skeevers, and then faced a giant spider, one that had grown too big, standing taller than Karr, to leave the room and had been relying on the occasional Skeever. It guarded the lever. Belinda cringed visibly at the sight of the thing. She tapped the carnelian containing pyromancy and brought fire to her hands.

"Fuck this thing," she huffed. She did not like spiders. She blasted the spider in the face, making it screech. "Lu, get the lever."

"On it." Lucien moved so the lever was in sight and his eyes glowed teal. Teal magic formed around the lever and he pulled it. Outside, the second half of the bridge lowered.

Belinda backed the spider into a corner where it died. "Gods, I hate spiders."

"We know."

Serena led them back to the bridge and out into the courtyard. "By the blood…" She ran ahead into a dead and destroyed courtyard. Some plants still grew, but otherwise, the place was dead and grey. The pond was stagnant and overgrown with weeds and algae. No doubt any fish within died long ago. Juniper trees were uprooted and lay on their sides. There was no grass, just dry dirt. There entrance to the rest of the castle had been collapsed, the wooden furniture and planters were smashed and thrown about. Belinda walked up to the giant sun dial in the center of the courtyard and looked at it. Except, there two set of lunar cycles.

"A moon dial?" she wondered.

Serena looked to her, kind of in a daze. "What?" she asked.

"This is a moon dial, correct?" Belinda responded.

Serena went over to it. "Yeah; after becoming vampires, it seemed kind of pointless to have a sun dial," she explained. "So she had someone come in and convert it into a moon dial, which I though odd. I wondered why she didn't just have the dial removed com-. Pleat…ly…" She was staring at some spaces around the dial. "Some of the moon crests are missing."

Belinda looked at the empty spaces. "Three of them," she added.

"I didn't know they could even be removed," Serena pointed out. She walked around the moon dial. "Mother, what are you trying to tell us…?"

"That most of the castle is in disrepair and completely filthy and gross?" Belinda suggested.

Serena buried her face in one hand, giggle-snorting. "That is painfully true," she responded.

Karr and Lucien chuckled.

"But in all seriousness, the moon dial appears to contain a secret," Belinda pointed out. "Serena, by any chance, were the architects Dwarves?"

"Yes."

"Then this will be interesting." They searched for the missing crests and put them back in place. The moon dial shifted, stairs sliding into place around it.

"Very clever, Mother," Serena commented, leading the way down into a part of the castle she had never seen before. They arrived into a dusty old kitchen. "We should be careful; I've never been to this part of the castle. I don't know what to expect."

Belinda started opening the door on the far side of the castle. "Well, if I had to guess…" she started, leading the others into a dining hall. The fireplace and braziers roared to life. Skeletons rose from their seats around a broken table, drawing weapons. "…it would be exactly what I expected." She drew her sword and charged in, slicing across and chipping bones off the first skeleton. The skeleton raised its sword, but Belinda stabbed her sword between rib bones and grabbed the blade close to the guard and swung the skeleton over her head. She then stomped on its skull, shattering it.

Serena attacked two others with ice spears until they finally collapsed into piles of bone. Lucien just collapsed an unstable pillar on the last few, both of which were archers. Karr turned his eyes toward Belinda and asked, "Who has been teaching you to fight?"

"The Companions and Stormcloaks mostly," she answered. "Other than that, Dione and Brynjolf have taught me a few tricks as well. Including how to fight dirty."

Karr nodded. "Good."

They had to fight their way through skeletons, and when they saw gargoyles, Belinda tensed. "I STILL DON'T LIKE THEM!" She was right to be nervous, for they came to life and attacked. If anything irritated her, it was statues that didn't stay statues.

"Does your mother like gargoyles or something?" Belinda asked.

"She always found them fascinating," Serena answered, looking around the room they were now in. Belinda followed her gaze. "This can't be it. There might be a secret passage around here somewhere…"

"Oh no, where could that be?" Belinda mock-exclaimed, walking over to the fireplace and inspected. Soon, she pulled a candlestick holder on the wall and the fireplace slid away.

"However did you even know?" Serena asked.

"It was really obvious," Belinda answered, slipping through. "Seriously, your mother could give the Blades and the Thalmor a lesson in paranoia."

Eventually, they made it to the top of a tower. Inside was a large room, covered in dusted and cobwebs, and set up like a laboratory. The center of the room was odd. Circles, all looking like they could be moved. Alchemical ingredients were contained in jar and bottles, all in good condition. Some were in small, labelled box and others were in planters, though they were drooping. Many of the books were ruined and destroyed, but the few that survived were about alchemy, necromancy, enchanting, and theorems on something called the Ideal Masters. There was a platform that had more books, ingredients, tables, and an enchanter's table. There, they noticed some of the stone railing had been removed where one could oversee the circles in the center of the room, and a bowl on it stand. Belinda tilted her head to the side, and then looked back to the circles.

 _They could be moved,_ she thought. _Did Valerica create some sort of portal?_

"My mother had an alchemy lab in her drawing room, but it was nothing like this," Serena commented, looking to the circles. "Is this some sort of portal?"

"I was thinking that, to be honest," Belinda told her, standing next to the bowl. "I think the thing I'm standing next to might be what activates it, or at least, needs the right stuff to activate it."

"We need her journal then," Serena sighed.

"For all we know, she could have taken that with her," Belinda pointed out. "Unless…She hid that in plain sight because she guessed your father would never find this place and if he did, he'd be too busy with the destruction of this place to even realize he would be making sure Valerica is never found ever again because she thinks he's really that stupid. And given this stupid prophecy that would destroy the world, he really is that dumb."

Lucien was already checking the bookcases from Valerica's journal as Serena said, "That sounds about right." Lucien finally pulled a red, leather bound journal from a bookcase and brought it to her.

"Is this it?" he asked.

Serena took the journal and read it. A bit of time passed before she said, "Looks like this is a portal after all and the bowl next to is meant to hold the ingredients to activate the portal." She looked to the others. "It will take us to the Soul Cairn, the home of the Ideal Masters where those who have been soul trapped go after a soul gem is used. We need finely ground bone meal, soul gem shards, purified void salts, and-. Oh, damn it."

"What is it?" Belinda asked, dropping down to the floor. She had been sitting on the ledge of the balcony.

"We need my mother's blood," Serena answered, looking to her. "Which, if we had, we wouldn't be doing this in the first place."

"Looking around, she clearly left the rest of the ingredients around here," Belinda pointed out. "So, she either left a small vial of her own blood as well, or we could use your blood, since she's your mother."

Serena nodded. "You're right. Now, let's find the rest of the ingredients…"

They were particularly hard to find, seeing as how the ingredients were in elegant bowls. The bone meal were on the table under the skull of a mammoth, the soul gem fragments were by the stairs to the platform, and the void salts were on a bookcase on the platform. They went to the bowl and poured them in. Serena removed a bracer and rolled up her sleeve. With the care of a master surgeon, she made a cut along her arm and watched the blood drip over the ingredients. The soul gem fragments shimmered with violet light, and the blood liquefied the dry ingredients. The soul gems turned to dust then liquid. The circles in the floor moved, breaking apart and revealing a violet portal. The circled became stairs that descended into the violet light.

"Sh-she actually did it," Serena gasped, looking at the portal in awe. "She actually found a way into the Soul Cairn."

Belinda looked in wonder. "Well, let's get down there." She went down the stairs, but as soon as she was about to step through, lightning coiled around her, sucking her life force. She let out a scream of agony. Serena ran forward and pulled her away. Belinda ended up curled up into a ball, shivering in pain.

"What the Hell?!" Lucien exclaimed.

Karr pulled Belinda close, holding her tight and trying to warm her up. She was icy-cold.

Serena was thinking. After a moment, she groaned. "Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! The Soul Cairn isn't meant for the living," she finally stated. "Only the dead, soul trap victims, and vampires can enter."

"And as Planeswalkers, any of those would mean losing our Sparks," Karr pointed out.

Belinda groaned. "Fan-fucking-tastic," she grumbled. "This literally cannot be how this trip ends." She looked to Serena. "Is there any way we can get in without, you know, dying?"

Serena was silent for a moment, thinking. "I think so," she finally answered. "My mother taught me a trick to partially soul trap someone. I wonder if this was why…"

"Any side effects to that?" Belinda asked.

"You'd be a lot weaker, especially in the Soul Cairn," Serena answered, "but, once inside the Soul Cairn, we can solve that problem. After you spend a considerable amount of time there, you likely won't have any more problems."

Belinda nodded. "Karr and Lu: You two are staying here," she ordered, finally unfurling.

"What?" Karr asked, standing also.

"We need someone to cover us," Belinda pointed out.

"And I only have one soul gem," Serena added.

Karr sighed. "I don't like this."

"And we do?" Belinda asked. "Harkon is a vampire who is thousands of years old pursuing a bullshit prophecy. If he somehow finds the bow first, he'll corrupt it and life on Nirn will die. Granted, it will be harder to find the bow without the elder scrolls, but he has time the rest of us don't, and a year ago, I made a promise to Dione that she would never lose her home. I aim to keep that promise. Well, here comes an asshole who will kill Nirn, and we're going to need Auriel's Bow to stop him. And it just so happens the Elder Scroll that can show us the way to Auriel's Bow is in the stupid Soul Cairn because Valerica slinked away there with her tail between her legs instead of killing Harkon like a smart person would, and I'm just insane enough to go into the Soul Cairn so we can kick Harkon's sociopathic ass."

Lucien looked to Serena. "You realize she's insulting your parents, right?" he asked.

"At this point, I want to throw them both off a cliff," Serena pointed out. "Mostly my mother for making us go through all this nonsense." She turned back to Belinda. "Are you sure you're okay with the partial soul trap?" she asked.

"Hell no; but being a Planeswalker is part of who I am," Belinda answered. "It wouldn't feel right to be without my Spark."

Serena nodded, and took out a black soul gem…


	12. Chapter 12: Beyond Death

_The Soul Cairn…_

"I promise to make this as painless as possible," Serena had promised, and began her work. But it had hurt. A lot. The dagger carving a wavy line into her left arm so as not to mar the tattoos on her right, touching the black soul gems to the cuts, and Belinda feeling a piece of herself ripped from her very soul. She had screamed bloody murder at that. Her mana was sapped and she slumped against Karr, letting out a gasp. If this was 'as painless as possible,' then Belinda didn't want to know what it was like to feel all of the pain…

Once she recovered enough of her strength to at least stand, she kissed Karr's cheek, pat Lucien's head, and handed Spyro and her beautiful mantle over to them. Neither woman was sure how long they would be in there for, so Belinda packed up on carbs and drank plenty of water in fear that anything she brought would quickly turn inedible. Once Serena made the offering to the Ideal Masters, they entered the Soul Cairn, descending down the stone stairs through the portal. The swirl of bright colors was disorienting, and Serena almost lost her footing. Belinda, a frequent traveler of the Blind Eternities, was able to stable her and kept them on the stairs, all the way down. Once in the Soul Cairn, they took in their surroundings.

The sky was similar to Sovngarde's, only darker with no stars or bright colors. It was a dark, stormy blue with stormy clouds and thunder and lightning every other minute or so. Surprisingly, leafless trees seemed to grow, as well as gray, dead-looking grass, and here and there were tall, furling, fungi. Plenty of rocks and bones, as Belinda had expected. There were fissures that hissed, strange, bright platforms; and tall ruins, like a lost civilization. Souls wandered around, talking, saying things like, "That's the last time I argue with a Dremora" (Belinda's personal favorite) or "I told them we shouldn't have gone into that Oblivion Gate!" or "I wonder if my family misses me…" It was depressing.

"This all feels so wrong," Serena pointed out, shuddering. "You'd think being a vampire I'd be right at home here, but you'd be wrong."

"That's because you're not braindead," Belinda retorted, fidgeting with the hem of her tunic. She gave a sigh and said, "Right, first order of business: Let's find the soul gem you offered the Ideal Masters so I don't feel so weak and crappy."

They were in there for days, fighting off powerful undead the likes of which Belinda had never seen on Nirn before, talking about Valerica, the Ideal Masters, and Necromancy; and exploring the ruins. They collected quite a bit of treasure. The slew giant creatures the souls called Keepers, whom wore Dragonbone armor and wielded Dragonbone weapons. That required Belinda to be crafty when fighting. Serena usually stood back and fired spells at them. The one on top of a floating tower was the hardest, and it seemed that the Ideal Masters were out to knock one of them off and to their deaths with lightning or a strong gust of wind.

"I swear to Talos, if it rains and it's acid rain, I am so fucking done," Belinda told Serena.

They eventually found the spirit of a soldier who was looking for his horse. The soldier had nothing but praises for the missing steed, Arvak. Belinda and Serena decided to search for the horse. They found its skull surrounded by Bonemen, the wicked and strong black skeletons that attacked with ancient iron weapons. Despite their strength though, they were still just bones and Belinda opted to use the Dragonbone warhammer she retrieved from one of the keepers. It was odd, using a two-handed weapon for a change, bone blunt weapons were better for killing skeletons. After the skeletons were dispatched, Belinda carefully lifted the blackened, and strangely fiery, horse. They returned to the soldier, who was elated that they had found Arvak.

"I'm sure he would be happier somewhere sunnier," the soldier pointed out. "I'll teach you two how to summon him! It might help you get around this wretched place, and when you leave, you can summon him to the world of the living! I'm sure he would like that!" The soldier taught them the summoning spell and then faded away, free at last.

Belinda turned to Serena and said, "You should summon him. You need your own horse and that way, you won't have to saddle up with someone else."

Serena smiled. "Thank you." She summoned Arvak, who looked incredible! He was a bluish-black skeletal horse with bright violet flames surrounding him. Serena touched him, relieved his fire didn't burn her. He came with black leather tack. They mounted up and rode.

There was a merchant that they traded the ugly fungi, Soul Husks, to for interesting odds and ends. Belinda slipped the spell tomes into her pack, figuring Dione would be interested in seeing them. Serena flipped through the tomes that had Necromancer spells in them. She was especially interested in the Necromancer tomes that summoned creatures from the Soul Cairn. Eventually, they happened upon the soul of a Dunmer, whom was angrily muttering to himself.

"Um, are you okay?" Belinda asked, quickly regretting it.

"No I am not okay!" the Dunmer answered in frustration. "My notes! Scattered all over this damned prison! And if it don't find them, I will have write the second volume of my opus from memory! Confound these interruptions!"

"That's really rather relatable," Belinda responded, having flinched back. "Perhaps we can help you find your notes?"

"Finally, someone offering to help," the Dunmer sighed. "There were ten pages of my notes in all." He looked around. "They're somewhere around here." He stroked his chin. "I remember it was night, I was in my home writing diligently when a cadre of Dremora kicked in my door. One through a spell at me, holding an odd, black crystal. Then I remembered falling, my notes scattering as I did. I've heard from others about Daedra, and Oblivion Gates, and such."

"What city were you living in when this happened?" Belinda asked.

"Kvatch," the Dunmer answered.

Belinda flinched. "Ooooh…" She bit a finger.

"What? What is it?" the Dunmer asked.

"Yeah, I have bad news; you're very, very dead," Belinda answered bluntly.

"I'm-. I'm dead? That means the spell was…"

"Soul Trap," Belinda confirmed. "You're in the Soul Cairn, where the souls of people who've been soul-trapped go once the black soul gem has been used."

This shook the Dunmer to the core, and he had to sit down to come to terms with the new information. "That explains so much," he said. "I'll never get out of here. My writings will never see the light of day. I'll be forgotten." He looked up to them. "Kvatch? What happened there? And the Oblivion Gates? And how _long_ has it been since I died?"

"I kinda wish we had brought Lu; he would know more about it than I do, but I'll try to tell you the gist of it," Belinda answered.

"Wait, you don't know the whole story? How long has it been?" the Dunmer asked, looking mortified.

"Over two hundred years," Belinda answered.

"T-two hundred years," the Dunmer gasped. "Then no one remembers me…"

"Don't worry, once we get your notes, we'll make sure your writing sees the light of day," Belinda promised. "What's your name?"

"Saint Jiub, Eradicator of the Winged Scourge and Hero of Morrowind," he answered.

Belinda and Serena searched the Soul Cairn for Jiub's notes after Belinda told him what she knew of the Oblivion Crisis and the stories she heard of the Nerevarine, a figure Jiub knew of, having met her long ago. Last he had heard of her, she had gone to Akavir and vanished without a trace.

Finding the notes was a pain, though Belinda had collected a few before they found Jiub. The rest were in various structures across the Soul Cairn, some of them guarded by the Undead and others guarded by the giant soul gems that sapped their life when they got too close. Arvak certainly made the journey easier for them, seeing as how big the Soul Cairn was. Serena took a liking to the horse, and Belinda agreed. The horse was loyal and helped fight off the Undead. Eventually, they gathered all of Jiub's notes and returned to him.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Jiub cried, elated that his notes were returned to him. "Now I can finish my opus! Here is the first volume and something else that came to the Soul Cairn with me." He handed them a book and a locket. Belinda put them in her pack. When she looked back up, Jiub was gone…

Before reaching Valerica, Belinda was drawn to a building to the left. Serena followed her inside. There was no roof, but there was a wall that certainly did not belong in the Soul Cairn. It was a Word Wall, and Belinda felt her blood run cold. Until that moment, they both knew they really shouldn't be in the Soul Cairn. Now, Belinda really knew they should leave, and the feeling of dread she had made her feel sick to her stomach. After they made off with the loot in the chest by the Word Wall, they hurried over to Valerica.

They went up some steps, and Serena called out, "Mother!"

"Serena?" a voice replied. She looked weak and underfed, much like Serena did when she and Belinda first met. Her black hair was thin and wrapped up in a bun while her clothes had clearly fell to rags. Not feeding wasn't a death sentence to Vampires, but it certainly made them look livelier, especially with how red her eyes were. Still, she maintained her civility. "Serena? How are you here? Where is your father?" she asked hurriedly.

"It's fine; he doesn't know we're here," Serena answered, holding her mother's arms.

"Yeah, he's too busy making himself look like he's running a cannibalistic cult," Belinda pointed out.

Valerica glared at her. "And who are you, Vampire Hunter?" she demanded, glaring virulently. There was also hunger in her eyes, but Belinda chose to ignore it. After a thousand or so years, Belinda was certain she looked pretty damn tasty to Valerica.

"I only hunt ferals and douchebags, thank you very fucking much," Belinda responded.

That didn't let up on the glare. She sniffed the air, eyes going black. "You freed Serena?!" she demanded.

"To be honest, it was an accident and your douchebag husband's forces had already deduced her location by the time we arrived," Belinda pointed out. "Though, they were probably expecting some ancient artifact. Well, she had the Elder Scroll but clearly she's the more important of the two and when she politely asked me to take her home, I did so. And when I met Harkon, I really wanted to put his big, stupid head through a wall. Actually, I still want to put his big, stupid head through a wall."

Serena giggled.

"You're a mouthy one," Valerica commented.

"I've been told that's part of my charm," Belinda pointed out. "Look, the point is, we heard you might have the Elder Scroll that will tell us where to find Auriel's Bow so we can keep it out of Harkon's hands. Though honestly, if someone needs an Elder Scroll to find it, it's pretty well hidden and one only needs all three of the Elder Scrolls associated with the bow to find it-. And I just realized how stupid this all sounds. We can just walk up and stab Harkon a bunch of times and he'll die. Why the Hell do we need the bow again? We can just leave the Elder Scrolls here until we kill him!"

"Unfortunately, Harkon cannot be slain with regular, mortal weapons," Valerica pointed out. Then her eyes went wide. "Wait, _three_ Elder Scrolls?"

"A Moth Priest translated Serena's and made mention of an Elder Scroll pertaining to Dragons," Belinda answered, producing her Elder Scroll. "My Elder Scroll in other words."

Serena held out hers. "I think yours might be what we need to find the bow," she stated. "If regular weapons won't kill him, then the bow will. After all, it _is_ weapon of a god."

Valerica contemplated this. Then she looked to Belinda. "You remind me of someone…"

"Amanisa Dragonspeaker? I get that all the time from people who knew her," Belinda stated.

Valerica nodded. "She always said what I was doing was unwise, that higher powers always have a way of punishing those whom try to outrun fate," she pointed out.

"Was she right?" Belinda asked.

"Only she would rub it in my face, so yes; I will trust you," Valerica answered, sighing. "Come, I'll take you to my Elder Scroll."

"What about the Dragon though?" Belinda asked, following Valerica, though the question made the Vampire pause.

"There was a barrier around here," Valerica explained. "Obviously, you killed the Keepers that kept the barrier up. The Dragon was my warden, and he'll come to investigate soon enough. We must hurry." She pushed open the doors to a place called the Boneyard. The trio ran out into the Boneyard, and soon, a rancid, sulfuric stench assaulted their noses. The whoosh of a large beast flying overhead was their next clue, dragging Belinda's attention skyward to a large, decaying, green Dragon with curling horns. They bellowed a roar, acidic breath spewing from their maw. Where once were eyes, now were gaping sockets. The Dragon's roar had awaken the dead, Bonemen, Mistmen, Wrathmen, and a couple of Keepers rose from the ground, unsheathing weapons of Dragonbone, readied powerful spells, and notched arrows to bowstrings.

Belinda blinked. "God _fucking_ damn it," she groaned, and saw the Dragon grin.

Two spirits appeared then: Arvak's master and Jiub, both armed with weapons. Jiub said, "I was an assassin for hire before I was dragged before Vivec, and after that, I eradicated every Cliff Racer in Morrowind. That's how I met Dralsi."

 _Dralsi? That's Dione's grandmother's name,_ Belinda thought. "Funny you should mention that name," she commented as the Undead charged. Valerica and Serena summoned Undead of their own, and Belinda sighed. She _really_ didn't like performing Necromancy, but nothing else would survive here. She reached for Valerica's necromantic power and for the land around her, feeling a surge of black and colorless mana. Lightning shimmered around her hands and she conjured a powerful Elemental composed of the Soul Cairn and Undead. Strangely, she expected the Ideal Masters to pull back on what was theirs, yet somehow, she knew they were content to stand back and watch what happens when a powerful Planeswalker finally unleashed her own inner darkness.

The Dragon flinched visibly, never having seen anyone so mighty that the Ideal Masters were content to sit back and watch. They jumped from their perch, lunging at the Elemental. The Elemental punched the Dragon in the face, causing them to fall onto half of their horde. Serena, Valerica, Jiub, and the soldier all looked to Belinda with looks of shock on their faces. Belinda looked back to them.

"What?" she asked.

"N-nothing," they all answered, before charging into battle.

Belinda sent her Elemental to fight the Dragon's horde. The Dragon managed to get back onto its feet, shaking their dislodged jaw back into place. They snarled at her. Belinda rolled her eyes and simply responded with: "Rawr." She drew her sword and charged at them. The Dragon tried snapping their jaws at her, but she spun around them and sliced at their face. The Dragon's head snapped back. Belinda did not relish being so near this Dragon, for their smell was so overpowering. She end up fighting with her right hand over her mouth and pinching her nose. Sure, the Soul Cain itself reeked of the very things she was sure Namira's realm of Oblivion smelled of, but the Dragon also had sulfur breath to boot and Belinda wanted to make this fight quick before she had to vomit.

"Okay! STOP!" she snapped at the Dragon, making them pause.

"What?" came a deep, aged, male voice.

"I'm sorry, but the smell you're giving off is overwhelming," Belinda told him. She wretched. "So glad I left my mantle with Karr and Lu. I would never get the smell out." She coughed up more of her stomach's content, granted it was mostly liquid at this point. "Fuck, I need food." She spat, mouth dry. She wrapped a scarf around her mouth and nose before turning back to the Dragon. "Sorry. Had to make this more bearable." The Dragon nodded and they and Belinda resumed their fight until she defeated them. Half of her expected to simply absorb their soul upon death, but she was unsurprised when he just shimmered away. The remnants of his horde crumbled to dust. Belinda turned, thanked the Ideal Masters for allowing her to borrow the Elemental, and released them back to their world.

"You okay?" Serena asked.

"I'm mortal and just threw up whatever was left in my stomach," Belinda answered. "I am _very_ much not alright."

"We should hurry then," Valerica pointed out. "She will perish and become one with this world if she does not leave soon. I can sense she is starting to become dehydrated." She led them to an area where she performed alchemy. Serena decided to help Belinda, whom was tired after her fight, and famished and dehydrated. "She mustn't consume anything from the Soul Cairn," Valerica continued. "The Ideal Masters will likely wanted someone like her to be bound here." She took out a key and unlocked and long chest. Belinda and Serena recovered the Elder Scroll.

Once they excited the Boneyard, Belinda took a moment to sit. She shivered, feeling icy. Death was reaching for her, and she was starting to see things. She blinked her eyes irritably, trying to dispel the visions Ideal Masters were sending her. Serena put her cloaked around her and helped her to her feet. "I'll summon Arvak," she told Belinda. She then turned to her mother. "I'll come back for you, I promise."

"Serena, I'm more worried about you," Valerica pointed out. "Once your father discovers our places in the Tyranny of the Sun, no Daughter of Coldharbor will be safe."

"Well, hopefully by then, Harkon will have been sent screaming into the bowels of Oblivion," Belinda chuckled weakly.

Valerica sighed. "And you: Take care of Serena. She's all I have left."

Serena felt her heart beating at that as she summoned Arvak and got Belinda onto the saddle.

"Your mother's not so bad," Belinda commented. "I half expected myself to punch her in the throat."

Serena nodded, getting up behind Belinda. "Yeah. Let's just get you out of here. Let me know if you start seeing things."

"Too late."


	13. Chapter 13: Unseen Visions

_The Sea of Ghosts  
Nirn  
The 20_ _th_ _of Frostfall, 4E202_

Serena carried Belinda out of the Soul Cairn, making Karr and Lucien jumped. Serena started barking orders for food, warm water, blankets, and blood. Lucien produced a bottle of blood and had it warmed up for Serena to consume. Karr came with blankets and wrapped them and himself around Belinda. Lucien produced food and water for her, and they nursed her back to health. They then hurried through the passages they had come through and got Belinda back onto the ship. The sailors were hesitant to let Belinda back on, seeing how sickly she was. Serena threatened to turn them into skeletons if they did not sail them back to Windhelm. They were very agreeable after that.

Lucien and Karr stayed huddled around Belinda during the boat ride back, and was mostly in decent health by the 20th, during which the man and the lynx felt comfortable to be away from Belinda for more than a few minutes. The room was still kept warm for Belinda's sake though. She looked to Serena, who sat at the desk in the room, reading.

"Does it bother you we're going against your father?" Belinda asked.

Serena looked to her. For the past couple days, she had been fetching Belinda food and drink. "I figured that's what this was all leading up to," she answered. "So, I've been trying to make my peace with it." She sighed. "I want so badly for us to be a real and normal loving family again, but I guess that's not going to happen. Maybe people like us don't deserve such happiness."

"Ya know, I always say that the only ones who don't deserve happiness are dictators, greedy bastards, racists, people who hate someone for stupid reasons like their gender, race, religion, etc; pedophiles, rapists, and child molesters," Belinda pointed out, "because there is no excuse for any of them. And if they do make an excuse for their disgusting behaviors, they are generally trivial and are as disgusting as the true atrocities they commits against other people. They don't deserve happiness, and they'll all rot in Oblivion until the end of time. It's part of why I left home. I lived in a country where all that shit ran rampant and people who graffitied got longer jail sentences than a rapist."

"When I was your age, rapists got their genitals chopped off," Serena pointed out.

"They don't do that anymore where I'm from," Belinda stated. "But my point is, you've been polite, civil, and are just a generally nice person. I should point out I do not like Necromancy at all. I hate using it. Makes my skin crawl. And most Necromancers I meet are fucking dickheads. And I heard about this one Necromancer who sold her soul to four demons just to maintain her youth and beauty, and that she supposedly killed two of them already. I gave that a solid 'what the actual fuck out of ten.' And-. I was going somewhere with this, I swear. My point is: For all your faults, you're a good person and deserve good things. Sadly, life sucks and hates good people."

Serena giggled. "You're a true friend," she commented. "Which is odd, because I've never had true friends before. Just people who wanted to be important."

"Nah, we're family now," Belinda corrected. "A family of dysfunctional weirdos."

"I drink to that," Lucien pointed out, trotting in and hopping up onto the bed at Belinda's feet.

"You'll drink to anything," Karr snapped, shutting the door behind them. He had a tray with bowls of horker stew.

"Hey Pot, name's Kettle. Is that flask of yours full of whisky or water?" Lucien retorted.

"Oh, bite me," Karr responded.

"Dysfunctional weirdos!" Belinda barked, laughing.

* * *

 _Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 30_ _th_ _of Frostfall, 4E202_

Isran grumbled. "They've been gone too long," he told Grete, keeping watch at the wall with her. "I bet you fifty septims the vampire ate them, stole the scrolls, and went back to its sire."

"I'll take that bet," Grete responded, sounding confident.

"You sound sure of yourself," Isran commented.

"Because I know Belinda pretty well by now," Grete explained. "She's more hard-headed than you, but she's also open-minded, passionate, and has a good head on solid shoulders. Also, you owe fifty septims," she added, pointing to the approaching group.

Isran followed her pointing, and grumbled. He handed Grete a pouch of septims. Belinda was guided Queen Alfsigr, Karr holding her gently. Serena followed on a flaming, clearly undead horse. Lucien trotted alongside the steeds. Grete saw that Belinda looked paler than when she had left and just looked bit exhausted. Grete called to Brynjolf to get a bed ready and a healer. The thief nodded and hurried into the castle. Soon, Grete and Isran opened the barricade gate.

"You look dead," Isran commented.

"Just tired and drained," Belinda pointed out. "Also not good at sleeping on boats and surviving certain planes of Oblivion." Karr helped her dismount and carried her inside. Dione was waiting for them with Ralof and Belinda laid on a cot to sleep. Serena turned to Dione.

"What happened exactly?" Dione asked.

"Ever heard of the Soul Cairn?" Serena responded.

"I did some study on it for my enchanting classes," Dione pointed out. "Wait, you found an entrance to the Soul Cairn?"

"We did; place is not meant for the living," Serena explained. "It saps life essence. Thankfully, I know how to soul trap a fragment of a person's soul. However, we couldn't bring food and water. It turned to dust in the Soul Cairn. Belinda started declining on the third day there. After we got my mother's Elder Scroll, we got out as fast as possible. Being on a ship didn't improve her health, but she said we needed to get back to Fort Dawnguard as quickly as possible."

"Of course she pushed herself…" Dione mumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. She looked back up to Serena. "I heard there was a flaming horse?" she asked.

Serena nodded and summoned Arvak. "We reunited him with his master in the Soul Cairn and he told us how to summon the steed. He's a damn good mount."

"And because he's undead, he doesn't need to rest like a normal horse," Dione added.

Belinda woke up later that night to the smell of food, and consumed the food and a mug of water greedily. She was still tired, but sleep could wait until she had spoken to Dexion. She, Serena, Dione, and Lucien went to the Moth Priest, but quickly sensed that there was a problem. He was wearing a blindfold, and one of the other Dawnguard soldiers was help him around. When the young trainee saw Serena, he drew his sword, moving in front of Dexion to protect him.

"At ease, Landen," Dexion chuckled. "I have a hunch that is the vampire helping your cause."

"So you've lost your sight then?" Belinda asked.

Dexion turned his head in her direction. "I'm afraid so," he answered solemnly. "I was reckless in my desire to read the Elder Scroll. I have paid the price. Whether or not it returns is for the Gods to decide."

"Gods fucking damn it," Belinda groaned.

"What now?" Dione asked, getting Dexion's attention.

"What now indeed," Dexion chuckled. "There are special groves around Tamriel where the rare Ancestor Moths gather. The nearest one is up in the Jarrell Mountains, east of Falkreath."

Belinda produced her map and a pendulum. "Can you mark it?" she asked.

Dexion felt the pendulum and Belinda guided his hand over the map. She made sure the pendulum was still before stepping back. The pendulum moved, pulling to the spot on the map where the grove would be. Belinda made a mark. "Okay, we have it," she declared. Dexion returned the pendulum to her. "Anything else we need to know? I assume we need to do more than just go and read the Elder Scroll there."

"But of course!" Dexion exclaimed. He then explained about the ritual involved. They would need to get the draw knife provided there, use it to cut bark from one of the grove's mystical Canticle Tree, use the bark to gather a few dozen Ancestor Moths, and then stand where the light shone brightest to read the Elder Scroll.

"I'll read it," Belinda declared, getting everyone's attention. "I've read one before. I can do it again. I think it's just something I'm meant to do."

"Indeed," Dexion agreed. "Now, I think it's the one of blood you wish to read…"

* * *

 _Ancestor Glade, Falkreath Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 5_ _th_ _of Sun's Dusk, 4E202_

They managed to find the trail to their destination, at least, Belinda hoped so. They encountered a couple bandits and a bear. They collected some loot and continued to the entrance of the cave. Belinda double-checked her map, looked out over the cliff, and concluded this might well be where they needed to go.

"Then we best get inside; I foresee a storm coming this way," Karr reported.

They slipped inside, leading their horses in. The cave was surprisingly warm, with foliage growing about. Serena looked around, not the least bit impressed.

"If this turns out to be a wild goose chase, Dexion and I are gonna have… _words_ ," she pointed out.

"Fangs or no fangs?" Belinda asked.

"The answer is yes," Serena replied.

They crossed a log that was wedge between rises in the cavern and followed a tunnel into a large, beautiful glade full of hot springs, trees crowned by pink flowers, and soft, yellow flowers. The Ancestor Moths flitted about, fluttering mostly about the trees. Some were among the flowers. Light streamed in from a hole in the ceiling and snow drifted down. Now, everyone was impressed.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life," Serena gasped.

Belinda looked to Serena in disbelief. She had spoken highly of how beautiful her mother's garden was, had seen much of Skyrim's beauty, was thousands of years old and surely had seen more stunning sights, but _this_ , _this_ was the most beautiful sight she had ever lain eye upon?

"You are so sheltered," Belinda commented.

They made their way down to a rock that had been carved into a doughnut shape resting upon a half circle. Levitating via magic within was a draw knife. Belinda took it in her hands, the worn handles soft. She went to the nearest tree and scraped some bark from it. She ran around the grove, drawing moths to her. Then, she began to glow. Her amethyst eyes sparkled, her skin glowed gold and silver, and she felt the mana around her well up. Soon, a beam of light shone where she needed to stand. She went to stand there, surrounded by the Ancestor Moths and shinning like the sun.

"They seem to like you," Serena giggled, handing her Valerica's Elder Scroll.

"It's probably the bark, but I do feel elated," Belinda pointed out.

"You look like a true Planeswalker," Lucien told her.

"I am a true Planeswalker, Fuzzbutt," Belinda snapped.

Karr may have been blind, but he could still see magic, and what he saw of Belinda made him go to his knees. She was more beautiful and brilliant than he could handle. Silver and gold swirls and waves rippled over sparkly stars, each Ancestor Moth like gold and silver shooting stars zooming past and around her. Belinda looked to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"You're just too beautiful for words," Karr answered.

Belinda giggled, blushing. "I wish I could see what you're seeing right now," she said. She turned back to the Elder Scroll in her hands. She raised it, unfurled it, and was hit by power. The words and runes burned into her vision. It was hard to keep reading, but she stood fast, despite her knees suddenly going weak. She shook, holding the scroll, and forced her will against it. Her vision shoot from the grove and into the Reach, flying like a Dragon. It showed her a where to go, to a cave. It went through the cave, and then took flight into a great, beautiful valley. There were Frost Giants and ruins far more ancient than most of the ones that dotted Skyrim's landscape. She landed beside someone, and turned to them. They were tall and armored, with snowy features and icy eyes. They turned to her, pointed ears twitching in surprise, and then Belinda was back in her own body, collapsing to the floor. The Elder Scroll's words were still burned in her mind.

When she awoke, her eyes ached. Every time she tried opening them, she cried out in pain and just kept them shut. Granted, that meant she still saw the runes of the Elder Scroll. She groaned. Serena went over to her and sat down.

"Will this be permanent?" she asked, concerned for her friend. She also wanted to leave, and soon. She had an unpleasant feeling in her gut.

"Doubtful," Belinda answered, fidgeting with her braid. "My eyes just really hurt right now and it's annoying." Her eyes were wet and tears streamed down her cheeks. Then she sensed it. "You want to leave here because you think we're in danger."

Everyone looked to them.

"I've been getting more uneasy the longer with stay here," Serena explained, now twiddling her thumbs. "I want to leave before my father's people find us."

"I'll go check and see if the storm passed," Lucien pointed out, turning to the path up. He then paused, sensing five minds coming toward them. "Never mind, they found us."

"How many?" Belinda asked.

"Five vampires. Strong vampires," Lucien answered, ears going flat. "And two Death Hounds! Everyone who isn't Belinda get ready!"

"Why am I not fighting?" Belinda snapped, standing abruptly. She felt vertigo and Karr sat her down.

"Because you're not accustomed to fighting without your eyesight," he responded calmly.

Belinda groaned, letting Karr guard her. The others drew their weapons as a Death Hound leapt at them from above. Lucien met it, throwing a rock at it. The creature yelped and hit the ground hard. Lucien went and slashed its thick, foul-smelling hide. The hound turned to him and tried to bite, making the lynx draw back, hissing loudly, eyes glowing teal. He threw more rocks at the hound, but it charged him. He jumped up and over the hound, twisting in the air to claw the hound again. The hound staggered, black blood oozing from the wounds on its back. Then it breathed ice at Lucien, who moved his cloak to protect himself. He shook off the ice as the hound charged him again and bit hard. Lucien let out a growl-yeowl sound of pain, making Belinda jump up. Karr charged at the hound, raising his scythe and bringing it down. He cleaved the hound in two. Lucien was still injured though, and Karr helped his old friend to Belinda's side. She fumbled around for the quartz crystal that contained a healer's magic. Blinded, she couldn't find the crystal and cursed.

"Karr, I can't find it!" she exclaimed.

Lucien couldn't have known. Gargoyles were artificial constructs, and there were two of them! They were shot at by Dione, so they went after her. Dione withdrew her Nightingale bow and summoned a Daedric Bow that sparked and burned with lightning and fire magic. She drew two arrows, both covered in fire and lightning, and aimed. She launched the two arrows, which pierced the chests of the Gargoyles and exploded. Both had gaping holes in their chests, but one lost its left arm, shoulder and a chunk of its face and the other's wings had been blown off, making it fall to the ground. The one with wings zoomed at her, trying to claw at her face. She leapt back, drawing her saber and swiftly cutting its arm off. The Gargoyle bellowed in pain. The wingless Gargoyle charged. Dione dodged and spun away. She made a stab through its back and then kicked it away. The winged one had taken flight while Dione killed the wingless one. It charged for her again. Dione conjured fire, ice, and lightning and launched the spells at the Gargoyle. It exploded, a rain of stone flying across the grove.

The vampires came. Grete, Serena, Ralof, Astral, and Brynjolf met them. Serena and Astral drew knives and readied spells. The latter had been practicing lightning magic. Astral went for the Breton vampire who was readying spells of lightning and ice. Astral knew to avoid the lightning spell. It would drain them. Astral threw knives at the vampire as she tried to hit them with bolts of lightning. The vampire hissed and screeched as each one pierced her. Finally, Astral charged their lightning spell at the vampire. The lightning struck deep and connected between the knives, all made of copper. The vampire collapsed, blood pouring into the water.

Serena jumped out of the way of the large Nord vampire whom was armored and wielding a large warhammer. She used ice spells on him, and cut with her knife. She was managing to weaken him, but her soon caught her in the side and sent her flying into a boulder. She felt something break and winced. She looked up and saw her opponent approach. At that point, Grete had dispatched her opponent and charged, cutting the vampire's head off. The vampire collapsed. Brynjolf had stabbed his opponent in the heart and decapitated him. Ralof burned his opponent to ashes before running over to Serena.

"Your spells won't work on me," Serena pointed out, cringing in pain, "but I'm not the one you should be worried about." She gestured to Lucien, whom was being held by Belinda. Ralof nodded and ran over while Grete helped Serena to her feet.

"You okay?" Grete asked.

"I will be with time and rest," Serena answered.

Grete nodded, and went to get the dead away from the water. Astral and Brynjolf helped her. Serena went to check on Lucien; he would live. They needed to get away from here though.

 _To the Bow of Auriel,_ Serena thought.


	14. Chapter 14: Light of Darkfall

_Darkfall Cave, The Reach Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 11_ _th_ _of Sun's Dusk, 4E202_

Snow fell lightly over the Reach, thankfully not enough to block up any roads or make the wilds impassable. They arrived at the area where they met Sorine and turned north, eager to reach Darkfall Cave before nightfall and heavier snows came. The cave's entrance was at the edge of a pine forest. The cave had lit torches, though they didn't illuminate much. The group exchanged worried glances. Had Harkon's vampires already been here? Karr checked his sight and said there were no vampires present in the cave.

"However, those who came before are deceased," he stated.

"Likely a while," Lucien agreed. "The torches are quite dim."

Belinda nodded, leading the way through the cave and to a large chamber. There was an old, unstable bridge that connected the two ledges, and across the bridge was a moonstone deposit. The bridge did not have a rope railing on the left side and rail on the right looked well-worn and the wood weathered. A river rushed underneath the bridge. Otherwise, there was nothing else around. This made Belinda frown.

"Why would the Elder Scroll lead us here if there was nothing?" Serena asked.

Belinda started across the bridge, grabbing the rope to her right when the bridge sagged to the left. At the half point, the rope snapped and the bridge broke, sending Belinda screaming into the river! She didn't returned to the surface until she got sucked through a tunnel and tumbled over a waterfall. Along the way, she saw spiders and screamed. Except that caused her to swallow more water and she nearly drowned. The second waterfall through her into a shallow, rocky stream and she blacked out.

She awoke beside a fire. Her head throbbed and her throat ached. She let out a pained, annoyed groan. "Motherfucker…" she gasped.

"Good evening, Sleeping Beauty," Serena greeted.

"Ooooh, fuck you," Belinda groaned. She sat up. "Where are we?" she asked.

"A cavern deeper in," Dione answered, leaning against a wall, looking down a tunnel every so often. "The camp was already here, but we clean it up. Seems there's trolls down here and they killed a group of researchers."

"Damn," Belinda muttered.

"So I've been keeping watch," Dione added.

Karr and Lucien were on either side of Belinda, the two dozing off. Grete, Ralof, and Brynjolf were fast asleep. Only Dione, Serena, and Astral were awake beside Belinda. There was food for her: A slice of bread, a slice of cheddar, and some jerky. She ate the small meal and drank from her water bottle. She was already tired and longing for sleep despite just waking up. So, she rested again, pulling her blanket over her. She woke up with the others and Serena declared morning. They packed up and doused the campfire. Dione and Lucien scouted ahead to deal with the trolls. There were surprisingly only two.

"Just two? Sounded like there was supposed to be more," Belinda mumbled tiredly. _Maybe I'm still in poor health from the Soul Cairn,_ she thought, thinking of no other reason for her to be so tired.

"There's something else," Dione pointed out, looking to Belinda. She then looked at the group in general. "We saw a pale light. We don't think it was Auriel's Bow, but one can never be sure. There was also a figure."

Belinda raised a brow. "Well, let's go have a look."

They moved to the next area, past the dead trolls and toward the figure by the pale light. At the light, the figure turned to them, revealing himself to be one of the rarest beings in all of Tamriel: A true Snow Elf, standing taller than any Altmer, with skin light quicksilver, hair like snow, and eyes like ice. He wore dull, scratched-up armor that had likely once shone a brilliant silver in the light of day. But it seemed those days have long since passed. He had a small shelter close by and he had a small shrine with a swirling sun as the symbol. In the shallow waters close by, there was a dome with the same sun symbol on top.

"Do not be shy; you are welcomed here," he greeted, voice hoarse from disuse. How long had it been since he had seen someone?

"Um, hi?" Belinda responded, hesitantly, stepping into the light of his candles.

"Are you a Snow Elf?" Belinda asked, eyes fixed on him.

"Yes, I am," the Elf replied. "I am Knight-Paladin Gelebor, and I know why you've come: You're here for Auriel's Bow. I will help you retrieve it."

Belinda opened her mouth to speak, but was speechless for a moment. "Well, thank you. What's the catch?" she asked.

"You'll need to kill my brother Vyrthur," Gelebor answered.

"That sounds bad; what happened?" Belinda asked.

"The Betrayed, what you call Falmer, came and corrupted him," Gelebor explained. "They came in great numbers, swarmed the chantry, and overwhelmed and slew most everyone here. Only Vyrthur and I survived, but he hides in the Inner Sanctum, corrupted by the Betrayed. I have seen him now and then when I venture out to hunt. He will see me and just stare before disappearing again."

"And he doesn't try to kill you?" Grete asked.

"He does not," Gelebor answered, "but the look in his eyes sends an unnatural chill through me."

"Gelebor, it's not unreasonable to think that he may be a vampire," Grete pointed out.

"That is true," Serena agreed.

"If that's the case, then that would go a long way toward explaining his behavior," Gelebor said. He sighed in despair. "Then all the more reason to slay him."

"There is sort of a cure, if he has a black soul gem and willing to travel to Morthal," Belinda pointed out, which cause Serena to look at her. "But if he's unwilling to listen to reason, then we'll kill him. We all understand why you can't do it. He's your brother, and the only other Snow Elf in, quite possibly, all of Tamriel."

Gelebor nodded. "Thank you for understanding," he responded. "The only way to reach him is the Trial of Enlightenment. I don't expect you to understand all of the symbolism involved, but you'll need this." He grabbed a large, silver ewer from the shrine and handed it to Belinda. "You'll need to visit every wayshrine and fill the ewer with water from each one. A spirit prelate will come and help you reach the next area. At the inner sanctum, you'll pour the water into a pedestal to gain entry."

"That sounds ridiculous," Serena grumbled.

"All religions have some form of ridiculous bullshit," Belinda pointed out. "But if it will get us Auriel's Bow, then we have to play along."

Serena nodded. "So, what next?" she asked.

"I will show you," Gelebor answered, walking into the water. He cast a spell at the swirling sun on top of the dome, and then a wayshrine rose from the water.

"So this is Snow Elf magic?" Serena asked, surprised.

"Amazing," Grete gasped.

After questions in which they learned more about the Falmer and Snow Elf culture, they stepped through the portal and deeper into the cave. Darkfall Passage was a long and winding tunnel that occasionally forked or emptied into a large cavern. It was inhabited by Falmer and Chaurus, both regular one and the terrifying winged ones. The passage was also lined with strange, pink, glowing fungi that, when approached, snapped shut and withdrew into tubes. In one cavern, they saw beautiful plants: Teal, bell shaped flowers with bright turquoise antennae, all surrounded by purple flowers covered the ground around them.

"They're so beautiful," Serena gasped.

Dione snipped a few and placed them in a jar from her pack. "And unique," she added. "I've never seen these flowers anywhere in Skyrim or Cyrodiil. They're likely unique to this cavern."

They moved on, eventually coming upon massive blue crystals. Astral's body began to glow lightly.

"Aetherium!" they exclaimed. They touched the crystal, turquoise light shining where they placed their hand.

"Is this what you're made of?" Serena asked.

"Yes," Astral answered.

Belinda touched the crystal. "Can you imagine the treasures that can be made from this?" she wondered.

There were nods of agreement and they pressed on after a short while and a snack. The next chamber had, of course, more stupid Falmer and stupid Chaurus. Belinda groaned.

"I am getting really fucking sick of these stupid fuckers," she snapped drawing her sword.

Of course, the Falmer were outnumbered and couldn't reach the pen containing their Chaurus before the group engaged and slaughtered them. Killing the Chaurus came after. There were bridges that took them past the waterfall, and they got soaked. After killing a few Chaurus Hunters, they sat again to rest and dry off. Serena said the sun had set and they slept for the night…

* * *

 _Darkfall Passage, the Reach Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 12_ _th_ _of Sun's Dusk, 4E202_

When they awoke, they got back into their armor and made it to a dead end with two pulls. Belinda raised a brow at this. She looked to the "dead end" and knew that it moved. There was also a lot of traps, and it was likely that one of the pulls triggered them. The other would make the wall slide down.

"Looks like whatever's on the other side of the wall, the Falmer don't want loose," Serena commented.

"Well, then let's let it out." Belinda pulled the first rope, opening the door.

On the other side, a large, black saber cat rose, its fur marking with white streaks and spots. It roared before charging. Dione dispatched it with an arrow to the face.

"That's…It? A saber cat? The Falmer have fucking numbers and could easily overwhelm and kill it! What a joke!" Belinda exclaimed, walking into the massive cavern. "Whoa…"

Aetherium crystals and the tall, swaying Aether Shrooms (that's what she called them) illuminated the chamber, creating a soft, luminous mist. More of the "Gleam Blossoms" grew here and the waters were that opaque turquoise like in Black Reach. There were no Dwarven ruins to mar the area. They were introduced to a Poison Bloom, which was a sack-like plant with filigree-like leaves surrounding it. The whole time, Dione was taking notes on the plants and collecting them for her mother and Winterhold College's archive. They encountered deer here, with dark fur that was streaked and spotted with glowing green fur.

"Perhaps the Aetherium-infused water is causing the glowing fur?" Dione asked.

Belinda shrugged. "Perhaps."

Astral approached them and touched one gently. The glowing green changed to a glowing blue. "Yes," they answered. "The Aetherium is changing the wildlife here."

"Now the next question is: Where did these animals come from?" Grete asked.

They reached the Wayshrine of Illumination, and a spirit appeared. The spirit approached them, greeting them fondly. "Are you ready to seek Auri-El's enlightenment?" he asked, excited.

"Yes," Belinda answered.

"Then behold the gifts of Auri-El!" The spirit raised the wayshrine and Belinda collected the water from the pedestal. Then they stepped through yet another portal. They entered into a cold passage way, surrounded by more Gleamblossoms, Aetherium Crystal, and the remains of what most likely used to be a shrine. They moved through a narrow passage to a chamber that had an opening in the ceiling. It was day. They continued and climbed out on the clearing, surrounded by tall, impenetrable mountains and a thick fog. It didn't seem impressive to some. They followed the path up between the mountains, heading toward the next wayshrine, which was easier to find and collected the water from there. The portal inside merely led back to Darkfall Passage and so, they returned to the mountain trail. Their path got block by three young, white Frostbite spiders and their large mother. The spiders were, like the Falmer before, easily outnumbered and slain. They continued again, emerging into a valley of white, silver, and blue.

"This is what I've been waiting to see," Serena gasped. "Makes everything else worth it."


	15. Chapter 15: Touching the Sky

_The Forgotten Vale  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 13_ _th_ _of Sun's Dusk, 4E202_

They set up camp along the river that flowed through the valley. Lucien, Grete, and Astral went to hunt for dinner and returned with a small buck that they went to work on butchering. Dione started collecting samples from the river and local flora. Belinda got a fire started and cooked what she was given. Night eventually fell, and they ate the venison from the deer. It had a slightly sweet taste to it. Belinda yawned as it started getting later. She looked around beyond the reach of the fire's light.

"This is a truly unique place," she commented. "Everything here is unlike that found in the rest of Skyrim."

"It's the Aetherium," Dione pointed out. "The Dwarves and the Snow Elves…Their connection to the Aetherium. It changes the things around it. There's Aetherium in the water, the plants, the animals."

"Tell me about Kaladesh," Astral pleaded Belinda.

"Well, the skies of Kaladesh are full of Aetherium and they also have Aetherium crystal there," Belinda explained. "And how it flows through natural greatly affected the fashion, architecture, technological advancement, and the flora and fauna there. But it wasn't always like that. The Aetherium is a rather recent development."

"The Mending," Karr stated.

That was a term Belinda had mentioned to Dione many times. "Are you saying Kaladesh's change was a result of that?" she asked.

"Around 60 years ago, the Mending drastically changed the Multiverse," Karr answered. "Aetherspheres appeared around various planes, Ravnica rejoined the Multiverse, the Aurora on Lorwyn became more sporadic, and don't even get me started on Dominaria. That was the center of it all. During the Mending, Planeswalkers died, lost their Spark, or became weaker. Whole planes were ravaged by invaders through the rifts, or simply vanished. Throughout the years, various pre-Mending Planeswalkers have accepted their inevitable ends while others sought or still seek immortality and power."

Dione nodded. "What about you?" she asked. "Will you eventually die?"

"I haven't really thought about it," Karr answered. "My Angel blood will keep me alive for a long time. I suspect my Human blood makes me truly mortal."

"And Lucien?" Dione asked.

"I am well over 10,000 years," Lucien answered, "and I have enough magic in me to live possibly centuries more. But I think that I will eventually pass."

"Are either of you afraid to die?"

"We've lived long, and suffered pains; we've felt the greatest joys, saved so many lives, saw worlds born, saw worlds die, have met many amazing people that changed the course of their worlds, build legacies, and eventually pass; and we've loved so strongly," Lucien answered. "We're not afraid of death. We're only afraid of dying without doing enough."

When morning came, they broke down their camp and extinguished their fire. Despite the warming sun, the vale was frigid and cold, and had constantly tried to extinguish the campfire. So, they were constantly adding logs to it throughout the night. Belinda pulled her cloak tighter about her, shivering a little. She loved the cold, but usually she was bundled up in blankets with a warm fire, a good book, and mug of hot coco. Karr wrapped an arm around her, sharing his cloak and his higher body heat. Being half-Angel, he had a naturally high body tempter to support his flight. Sadly, since he lost his wings so long ago, his body temp and metabolism lowered to near-full blooded human levels. He was still warm though, and Belinda snuggled against him.

The vale was so stunning, with clear skies and mists around the mountains. Ancient waterfalls had frozen over, creating giant icicles. No one dared to the lick them. There were many glaciers around, the river that divided the valley rushed by, perfecting blue with sheets of ice here and there; and then there were the Ayleid-looking runes of grand archways and pillars that were part of the Snow Elves' chantry. Finding the Wayshrine of Learning was very easy. They took a left from where they entered the valley and followed the ruined archways. Those archways that were still intact looked so well preserved for Mythic Era structures.

"The architecture of the ancient elves is simply unmatched," Dione pointed out. "5,000 years old and even the broken bits still hold together."

They reached the wayshrine, talking to the Prelate Spirit there, and Belinda dipped the ewer into the basin. The portals led to the previous two wayshrines. They had no wish to return to them. The last two were clearly across the river. As they crossed though, an undercurrent caught Belinda and knocked her over, making her scream in alarm and it dragged her over a waterfall into cave. Karr and Serena dove after her and they ended up in a grotto where they encountered more Falmer. But these ones were different. They wore nothing and attacked with their long nails. Belinda ended up with three scratches on her left cheek. After slaying the feral Falmer, they investigated the area, find dead Falmer and Chaurus, looking like they had been ripped to shreds. This left the three unnerved.

They followed the river back into Darkfall Passage, where Belinda emptied the ewer. They others found them there. Belinda refilled the ewer at the first two wayshrines, and by the time they returned to the vale, it was night again, and everyone was cold and tired and some were cranky. They rebuilt the campfire and huddled together. It was colder that night. Belinda felt so stupid for losing the water earlier, and so took a torch and the ewer back to the Wayshrine of Learning to replace it. She did this in her spare, light cloak, shivering the whole way. At least the wayshrine provided warmth. Then she returned to camp…

* * *

 _The 14_ _th_ _of Sun's Dusk_

Everyone was stiff the following morning, and this time they ventured to the right of where they had set up camp. Along the river, they found a rare Frost Giant. It immediately went on the offensive and attacked them. They fought back and overwhelmed it. From its corpse, they retrieved a large, perfectly marquis-cut amethyst. Belinda felt power radiate off it and slipped it into her pack. She was very curious as to its purpose. They crossed the river over the ice sheets and started up a mountain path. When they were over the first waterfall, they saw another path and followed it to a shallow, rocky river. When they crossed, they felled another Frost Giant and recovered another strange gem from it, this one sapphire.

"What do you think they are?" Dione asked.

"Well, I think they're keys of some sort," Belinda answered, and she was right when they went back across the river.

There was a broken archway with a sort of pedestal in front of it. Belinda slipped the amethyst into the slot and a portal opened up. It led to the grotto from yesterday's misadventure, but this time, they were on a ledge that would have been inaccessible without the portal. They recovered elven arrows, coins, gems, and a few potions from the chest. They went back through the portal and put the sapphire into the slot. This one led them to a place that was more frigid inside than outside. Belinda tapped her garnet to use pyromancy for warmth. Her eyes widened at the sight of beautiful gems scattered on the floor. There was an enchanted, elven long sword, potions, elven armor, scrolls, coins, and the works. They left through the portal and took the sapphire from the slot.

"There must be more of these around the valley," Belinda told the others. "They led to some nice treasure. But if these two are anything to go on, there may be more Frost Giants guarding them."

"Oh, that'll be fun," Grete groaned.

"But hey, more wealth and treasure," Dione pointed out.

"Indeed lass," Brynjolf agreed.

They returned to the main path, catching a decent view of the Inner Sanctum on its cliff along the way. At the top, they reached a frozen lake, and went past it to the Shrine of Resolution. The Prelate greeted them as all the others hand and raised the shrine. Belinda retrieved the water once again. They went back to the lake. Something felt off about it to Belinda though.

"We should be careful here," she told them, stepping onto the ice.

"I don't think we need to be worried about thin ice here," Dione pointed out, seeing Belinda draw Dragonbane. The action instinctively made her reach for her own sword, curling her fingers around the hilt.

Belinda felt a tug toward a tall boulder at the edge where the water would have fallen into the river. She went toward it, hearing the call of ancient Nords and Dragons. As she drew closer, her pupils turning to slits and shinning the colors of fire, the ice shook violently, and two spiky dragons the color of twilight with flat tails and blue eyes burst from under the ice, roaring and sending shards of ice flying. Everyone drew their weapons, Dione quickly grabbing her bow and an arrow. Brynjolf drew his sabers and Grete loaded her crossbow. This is what Belinda had felt, the presence of dragons. And a word of power. Grete saw Belinda run for the World of Power, absorbing it into her. She turned back to the battle, leaping forth as one of the dragons landed to attack her. She landed on the dragon's head, grabbing a spike and running her sword through the dragon's head. They dragon let out a cry of pain, stumbling to the side. The others came and helped finish it off.

The second dragon shrieked in dismay at the loss of their twin. Belinda absorbed the soul of the first one: Voslaarum. Their twin was called Naaslaarum, and they became terrifying and fierce, attacking with fire. So, Belinda ordered the group to attack with ice magic. The ice spells and ice arrows slowed the dragon, eventually making them land. Belinda charged in, cutting its face and seeing deep into its blue eyes. Their back was grey, contrasting from its coral body. She hopped on their head and stabbed deep. Naaslaarum fell onto their side, dead. Belinda took their soul, and with the souls, learned the Words of Power for a devastating Shout.

After the lake, they entered a canyon where they fought Chaurus Hunters. The nasty things burst from their cocoons, covering everyone in green slime every so often. It led them to a cave that took them to the ledges of the canyon above, where Falmer bridges crisscrossed the canyon. Only a few Falmer roamed the cave and Dione was able to shoot them with her bow. A ramp led up to the ledges, coiling around a pillar that the Falmer had built around. No one was certain whether the ramp and pillar were natural structures or carved by the Falmer or Snow Elves. They took shelter in a large Falmer hut that night, huddling close and around the fire…

* * *

 _The 15_ _th_ _of Sun's Dusk_

They were all stiff on the 15th of Sun's Dusk. They moved through the upper ledges of the canyon, at one point finding another Frost Giant and retrieving an Emerald 'Paragon.' It made more sense to call them Paragons rather than keys or marquis-shaped gems. Somehow. They were eager to try it, but felt it best to press on rather than head back. They reached the entrance to a cave made inside a massive glacier. Just in time at that, for a snowstorm hit and forced them inside.

The whole way through, they fought Falmer and Frost Trolls, fell in water, slipped, nearly broke a Falmer bridge, got lost twice, and Ralof nearly drowned. It was a long, winding, and trying journey through the glacier. At least there was a bit of warmth. Near the exit, they got a fire going from the bones and dead branches they collected, having run out of firewood. Belinda rubbed her tired eyes, her whole body aching. Karr pulled her close. They saw everyone was so sick of the Forgotten Vale at this point.

"Why did we come here again?" Ralof asked.

"For a stupid bow," Grete answered.

"And why are we getting this bow? It seems we don't need to worry about Harkon getting it," Ralof pointed out, taking a bite of his jerky. "You know, given the crap we're going through just to get the damn thing."

"I'll drink to that," Belinda agreed.

"Same," Serena seconded. "This whole ordeal is insane. If we take the bow from here, we're just announcing to my father that we have the bow. Come get us."

"If the bow really does shoot arrows of sunlight, then he'd be pretty stupid to come at us," Belinda giggled.

"That is true," Serena agreed.

Astral and Serena kept watch as they all slept, though Grete slept against a rock with one eye open and on Serena as always. Karr and Belinda huddled together while Brynjolf and Dione did the same. Lucien slept on both couples' feet. Ralof merely huddled close to the campfire with a fur blanket. Serena watched the glacier's exit, on guard in case any Falmer tried coming in. Astral watched the rear. Eventually, morning came…

* * *

 _The 16_ _th_ _of Sun's Dusk_

They had slept better, but were still exhausted as they left the glacier. They took the right path first, dispatching a Falmer guarding a gate. This gate led to the next Frost Giant, this one holding a Diamond Paragon. It was beautiful to look at. Belinda bagged it along with the other three paragons and they returned to the next canyon. It had more, you guessed it, Falmer.

"If I ever see another Falmer again after this fucking place, it will be too soon," Belinda grumbled, drawing her sword.

"Eleven out of ten says our next major adventure will have Falmer at some point," Dione bet.

"I'll take those odds," Grete responded.

"Oh, shut up," Belinda huffed.

Granted, the managed to climb onto the cliffs above the canyon village and avoided a fight with most of the Falmer. Sadly, they couldn't do it forever and dropped into the village when they could edge along any further. Killing one Falmer, though, set off the rest of the village in both directions.

"Shit, they're coming in from behind!" Brynjolf called.

"Run and kill anything that gets in our way!" Belinda responded, run past a Falmer, and swinging her sword. She beheaded the Falmer as she past. They ran along the bridges. Lucien pounced another Falmer and knocked it down. Astral ran past and stole its life force. This seemed to be where the bulk of the Falmer resided, as they came out of huts and holes in the wall. They entered a tunnel and came up to a tripwire. Looking ahead, Belinda saw a few tons of rock behind the trap. "Over the wire and move ahead." They did so and moved past the rock trap. Belinda came up last and moved past the trap. Dione stopped and turned back, drawing her Nightingale bow and an ebony arrow. She aimed for the rope. The Falmer were smarter than she gave them credit for. They stopped at the wire, almost as if sensing the danger. The first stepped over it, and that's when Dione adjusted her aim and released the arrow. The Falmer fell back on the wire and ignited the trap. The rocks tumbled down and crushed half the Falmer pursuing. The rest fled.

When they emerged from the cavern, they saw another Falmer village and pale. It surrounded the Wayshrine of Radiance, and the prelate stood by. After a few moments, no one saw any movement. Serena, Lucien, Grete, and Dione investigated the huts and found nothing. Belinda then went up to the prelate, who asked the same question as all the others. After the wayshrine was risen, she collected the water. The ewer was now full and she carried it in both arms. They approached the bridge, in awe of the large temple, the Inner Sanctum.

"It's beautiful," Serena gasped. She paused. "I've been saying that a lot lately."

"Serena, you've missed out on probably 3,000 years. Say it as much as you want," Belinda pointed out.

Before heading inside, they camped for the night, to rest and regain their strength. They all knew that tomorrow was going to be especially trying…

* * *

 _The 17_ _th_ _of Sun's Dusk…_

Strangely, it hadn't been as cold that night as it had the previous nights they spent in the Forgotten Vale. After waking and a quick breakfast, Belinda lifted the ewer into her arms and they crossed the bridge.

"That's a statue of Auriel, but it's using some of his older symbols of power," Serena commented. "This temple must be very older."

"Gelebor _did_ say this temple is older than him," Grete pointed out.

They reached the basin that Belinda poured the contents of the ewer into. The water rushed down the drain and flowed into and through groves in the floor. The water then filled an inlay of Auri-El's sun, glowing green when full. The sun on the door spun, unlocking, and Belinda pulled the doors open, and gasped at what lay within.

Ice statues of Falmer and Chaurus and the skeletal remains of Snow Elves who called this place home. It was creepy and chilly, with untouched snow and treasures. The ewer showed to serve as a key for hidden doors. They followed the ancient halls of the Inner Sanctum into a glacier that had grown into the structure and into Auri-El's chapel.

"And I thought the Soul Cairn was creepy," Serena muttered, giving a small shiver of discomfort.

None of them liked this place, but that had to find the Arch-Curate. So they squeezed through a tunnel of ice and dropped down from a ledge and then followed along the corridor to what used to be a grand hall. At the far ended was a throne, where sat the Arch-Curate. Around him: Snow, ice, Falmer and Chaurus frozen. This didn't look good. They approached anyway.

"Did you _really_ think you could come here and claim Auriel's Bow?" demanded Arch-Curate Vyrthur. Like Gelebor, his voice was hoarse with disuse. But there was something else. It almost sounded like he…Dehydrated. "You've done exactly as I've predicted and brought your fetching companion to me."

"Uh, what?" Belinda asked dumbly.

"Wait, is he also talking about me?" Serena asked, concerned.

"I have a bad feeling pointing to yes," Grete answered.

"Which, I'm sorry to say, your usefulness is at an end," Vyrthur snapped, and with that, some of the ice statues came to life.

Fighting them eventually made them shatter, once they were hit enough. The group new to stay on top of them, otherwise they'd be overwhelmed. Soon, they destroyed the Falmer, with Belinda and Serena closest to the throne. The others were on the other side of the room. Vyrthur spoke up once again.

"An impressive display! But you only delay your inevitable deaths!" he shouted.

With that, he collapsed the roof, separating Belinda and Serena from the others. No one was sure who screamed, but there was thankfully no blood. Karr called for Belinda, but she didn't time to reply. More frozen Falmer sprung to life and attacked Belinda and Serena. They fought for their lives. There were no whole bodies to revive with necromancy, putting Serena as a severe disadvantage, made even worse by the fact that these were ice statues and ice magic was her primary element. She was forced to use lightning and her knife for attacks. At least Belinda had her sword, but Falmer were wicked and attacked in numbers. So for both women, it was a one on two battle. They still one of course, and once they were dead, Vyrthur rose abruptly from his throne.

"This has gone on long enough!" he bellowed.

"Oh, shut the fuck up and fight like a man!" Belinda snapped.

"Oh damn," Dione commented, having heard that.

Vyrthur summoned large and ancient Ice Atronachs to fight alongside the frozen Falmer. "Child! My life ended long before you were born!" he sneered, giving a twisted grin.

Belinda was quickly overwhelmed, but clawed and beaten. She focused on slaying the Atronachs first, for they bruised her. Serena followed suit and attacked with lightning while she wailed on them with her Daedric daggers. Then the Atronachs faded away, but not before breaking Belinda's right arm. Serena then pulled the attentions of one of the frozen Falmer off Belinda, twisting its icy neck and breaking off its head. Belinda's cloak was shredded and she had thin cuts all over. She decapitated one Falmer, and cried out when icy claws ripped across her back. From a hole that the others managed to dig, Dione shot and arrow into the Falmer behind Belinda, causing it to shatter. Belinda and Serena turned to Vyrthur.

"No! I won't let you ruin centuries of preparation!" Vyrthur shouted, glowing bright.

"He's going to blow the place!" Belinda exclaimed. "EVERYONE GET FURTHER BACK!" No one questioned the order, and retreated back into the corridor.

"GIVE US THE BOW!" Serena shouted at Vyrthur.

"DEATH FIRST!"

The explosion was blinding and knocked Belinda back. When her vision cleared, she saw Vyrthur fleeing. Serena came and helped her up, minding her broken arm. There were no walls nor a ceiling left of the chapel.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"Serena?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna kick his bitch ass!"

Serena nodded, and they ran after Vyrthur, following him out onto the balcony. They cornered him, glaring virulently at him. "Enough Vyrthur," Serena snapped. "Give us the bow."

"How dare you girl! I was Arch-Curate of Auri-El! I had the ears of a god!" Vyrthur spat.

"Until the Betrayed corrupted you," Serena groaned, rolling her eyes. "Yes, yes. We've heard the sad story."

"And personally, we don't give a shit," Belinda added.

"Gelebor and his kind are easily manipulated fools," Vyrthur snapped. He glared deeply at Serena. "Looks into my eyes Serena, and you tell me what I am."

"You-. You're a vampire?" Serena gasped. "But Auriel should have protected you!"

"Grete was right," Belinda huffed.

"The moment I was infected by one of my own initiates, Auri-El turned his back on me!" Vyrthur snapped. "I swore I'd have my revenge, no matter what the cost!"

"You want to take revenge…On a god?" Serena asked, raising a brow and face betraying disgust.

"That's…NUTS," Belinda agreed.

"Auri-El may be beyond my reach, but his influence on our world _isn't_ ," Vyrthur snapped, his side now visibly bleeding black blood. "All I needed was a vampire and his own weapon, Auriel's Bow…"

"Wait, it was you? _You_ created that prophecy?" Serena asked, shocked.

"The prophecy lacked a final ingredient: The blood of a Daughter of Coldharbor!" Vyrthur answered, approaching Serena. Belinda put her sword to his throat.

Serena surprised them both, grabbing Vyrthur's chestplate under the pauldrons and lifting him up. She growled, "You were waiting all this time for someone like me, with my blood, to come along?! Well too bad! Because I intend on keeping! Let's see if any of your blood has any power!"

"I almost have it!" one of the others shouted from the blocked off corridor. Vyrthur illuminated with magic and pulled free of Serena's grasp. He attacked them, summoning another large ice atronach to aid him in battle. He lashed out at Belinda with an old Elven dagger, cutting a jagged line across her chest. Belinda ran him through in retaliation, and let his body drop to the floor. She panted, blood soaking her clothes. When she and Serena turned, the wayshrine behind them rose and Gelebor stepped out.

"So, the deed has been done?" he asked, though he knew it to be true. "The restoration of this wayshrine means he is dead and the Betrayed no long have control over him."

"Actually, it wasn't the Betrayed. Our friend Grete was right," Belinda answered. "He was a vampire, and controlling the Betrayed."

"That…Explains so much and lifts a weight off my heart," Gelebor sighed. "Finally, I know now that maybe someday the Betrayed will let go of their hatred and will learn to believe in Auri-El once again." He smiled, looking to the sky. "At last." He then looked back to them, the others coming to join. "You risked your lives for the bow, waded through waters and the Betrayed, and restored the chantry! I can't think of a more deserving champion to wield the Bow of Auriel." He stepped aside, the shining bow hovering over the basin inside the wayshrine.

"Yeah, never mind that half the building's been blown up," Brynjolf buttered to Dione, who nodded in agreement.

Belinda went and took the bow in her hands. She felt warmth flow through her. She looked up, and her eyes locked with a flaming dragon. Time went still. "Akatosh," she gasped. The dragon turned his head to her right and she followed His gaze. The illuminated portal showed a place with a sea of bubbling ink where books were stacked his on filigree platforms while eldritch abominations floated in a sickly green sky. There, she saw a man on at a desk, studying. Around him were three sleeping dragons. The vision faded. The dragon turned his head to the left, and through that portal, Belinda saw herself. She was a little older, scarred and with more tattoos. She looked hardened, and turned away from the portal to gaze upon the White-Gold Tower. Belinda looked back to Akatosh, meeting his gaze. Her journey was far from over. This Plane still demanded much of her. Akatosh faded away, and time resumed.

"Auri-El showed you a vision?" Gelebor asked.

"Yeah," Belinda answered.

Gelebor nodded, and helped her craft Sunhollow Arrows…


	16. Chapter 16: Previously On

_Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 1_ _st_ _of Evening Star, 4E202_

It had been roughly a month now, since they left. And just when Isran was starting to get used to the fact that Serena meant well, he began thinking she had eaten the others again. In that time, the vampires had only gotten bolder, more violent, and Isran was getting more annoyed. Dexion had been escorted back to the Imperial City where he would be safe. The two hunters he sent to do the job had actually returned just last night. In the meantime, Fort Dawnguard was now safe and secure and the ranks had grown.

 _If they don't return soon, then we'll take a chance and attack Castle Volkihar without them,_ Isran declared to himself. _Though this would be easier with that bow they're going after._ He was unaware of the vampire creeping up on him, hidden in the shadows. Isran had let his guard down, being so lost in thought as he was. The door swung open, and before Isran even looked up, a shining arrow zipped past and struck the vampire in the throat. Isran jumped and looked to the vampire behind him, seeing them burn, and wearing Dawnguard Armor. He looked back toward the door. Dione had her Nightingale bow in hand, but what was that arrow she had used?!

"Sorry about that; Lucien said he felt the mind of a vampire in here," Dione apologized. "The good news is: We got Auriel's Bow."

Belinda showed off the bow. She had more scars.

"It took you almost a month to get the bow?" Isran asked.

"No, it actually took us a week," Belinda answered. "The bullshit that came after cost us more time than it was actually worth."

Isran raised a brow.

"We found the last two Snow Elves, and one was a vampire and we slew him to get the bow," Belinda explained. "So now there's only one Snow Elf, and he's currently running a church to Auri-El. Or Auriel or Akatosh or whatever you want to call him. With no worshippers. Gelebor's life probably really sucks right now. Here's hoping he's not the last true Snow Elf in the world."

"What happened after that?" Isran asked.

"Lots of bullshit," Lucien answered.

"Well…After we defeated Arch-Curate Vyrthur, I decided to see where the rest of these cool gemstone keys would take us," Belinda explained. "Dione calls them Paragons, and one led to this forest place.

 _Belinda and Serena stumbled through a dense wood, only to be ambushed by a Falmer with a sword and fancy, silvery shield. It growled at them._

" _Uh, Dude, I don't think that belongs to you," Belinda pointed out, and the Falmer attacked. He was surprisingly resilient. Still, they killed him and took the shield. "Nine out of ten this is Auriel's shield."_

"It totally is Auriel's Shield, so bonus points," Lucien told Isran.

"So, we have the shield, we have the bow, and we are loaded with treasure," Dione pointed out. "So, we decided to head to the nearest city to sell some of it off to the local merchants. As we passed through Darkfall Cave though…"

 _ **WHY IS THIS CAVE SO FUCKING DARK?!**_ _Belinda thought irritably._ _ **And the fucking torches and light spells don't do shit!**_ _And in the darkness, she heard an 'oof', a thump, and crunch._

" _OW MY NOSE!" Brynjolf exclaimed._

"So, all the more reason to go to Markarth because, at that point, we were all too exhausted to heal him," Ralof pointed out.

" _I literally do not have the life force to heal him after mending Belinda's wounds," Astral said._

" _Same," Ralof sighed._

"The only reason it took us two three days to reach Markarth is because some asshole Forsworn out of a mine they clearly stole attacked us," Karr explained. "So we attacked them back and went to tell the miners outside of Markarth, who told the people who run the mine we were attacked at that it's safe to go back to work."

"I give them a month tops before the Forsworn attack their mine again," Belinda betted. "And on that note, I really hate the Reach and Markarth in particular."

"Yeah, after we arrived, we saw a Forsworn nutter try and kill an Imperial Spy who was not subtle about being a spy," Lucien pointed out, "but Dione was slightly faster."

"Boom, headshot," Belinda joked.

 _Dione saw the knife and drew her bow, putting an arrow to the bowstring, and aimed. The man grabbed a Cyrodiilic woman by her hair, making her scream. Dione shout the man in the head. People started running and screaming like chickens with their heads chopped off. Someone screamed about the Forsworn being in the city and the guardsmen tried to defuse the situation. The Cyrodiilic woman was shaking in alarm. Dione and Belinda went over to her and asked if she was alright._

"So while Brynjolf was at the local temple getting healed, Belinda and I got swept into this bullshit conspiracy that just goes to show: Sometimes removing an incompetent fool from power will result in corrupted assholes taking full power," Dione pointed out.

"I never want to visit Markarth ever again," Belinda grumbled.

"We got thrown in prison because we were doing something about the rampant corruption in the city," Dione pointed out.

" _Fuck Thonar Silver-Blood, fuck this Madanach twat, and fuck the Forsworn for being twatty little shits," Belinda snapped, getting the glares of most of the prisoners, including a large, unfriendly looking Orc._

" _Maybe you should tone it down?" Dione asked._

" _Fuck no!" Belinda had managed to hide her Skysteel knife in her bra, and now drew it._

 _All but one of the prisoners drew shivs._

" _We're outnumbered," Dione pointed out._

" _And I'm the Dragonborn," Belinda stated. "YOL-TOOR-SHUL!"_

"Long story short, there was a massacre in Cidna Mine, King Madanach is dead, and we escaped through some Dwarven ruins where we nearly died, and that piece of shit Thonar cleared us of all charges, but he's fucking lucky we didn't kill him ourselves," Belinda pointed out. By now, others of the Dawnguard came to hear what happened.

"And while they were in jail, Karr somehow made friends with Sanguine and did a lot of bullshit across Skyrim," Serena reported. "In. One. Night."

Everyone looked to Karr. "What?" he asked.

"They started drinking together, resulting in Karr buying a wedding ring and promising to marry a Hagraven, selling a goat to a giant to pay for said ring, and trashing the Temple of Dibella," Serena added.

"Daedra," Calen spat.

"Oh, it gets better," Belinda pointed out. "So, after Brynjolf and Astral cleaned up the temple and paid for damages, we finally collected our horses and left Markarth. And if I ever return to that city, it will be too soon. We made it to Rorikstead safely, but one of the farmers was crossed about Karr stealing the goat. So we had to go take the goat back."

" _Hey, I stole that goat from a farmer down in the village, so can I just buy her back?" Karr asked. The giant swatted at him angrily and Karr dodged. "I take that as a no. EVERYONE GRAB THE GOAT AND RUN!" he shouted._

 _Belinda grabbed the goat and bolted. Serena and Karr followed close behind, and all were screaming. Dione and Grete shot arrows and bolts at the giant, and then Astral and Ralof, from behind boulders, pulled a rope tight and tripped the giant. It died._

"We then found out where Karr got the ring," Lucien pointed out. "He bought it from Ysolda in Whiterun."

"And boy was she pissed," Belinda stated. "Well, after that, we went to meet Karr's fiancé. Good thing Karr is blind, because she was not a looker. In fact: She was a fucking Hagraven!"

"Shut. Up." Karr grumbled.

"Even if he wasn't blind, he would have to be completely shit-faced to propose to her," Brynjolf pointed out.

"Moving on?" Karr demanded.

"We returned the ring to Ysolda, who told us where the wedding was going to be. We get there and it's a rather terrible venue; we don't recommend it," Belinda said. "So we go in, kill a bunch of assholes, find Sanguine, and he got a kick out of the whole thing. Then I figure: What the heck? We'll stay, have a couple drinks, and I got new tattoos." She revealed the purple and silver scales tattooed across her chest and down her arms, some of the scales faded to show off the tattoos of Alduin, Paarthurnax, and Odahviing. "I'm pretty sure I started screaming and blacked out at some point during the process."

"After selling the rest of our loot in Whiterun and Windhelm, we started for Riften," Dione then reported.

"And something that happened earlier in this whole adventure came back to bite us in the ass," Grete reported.

 _They path was blocked by a large group of Imperial soldiers. There were at least forty of them. One of them, the one Belinda remembered as the obvious inbred git, pointed at her._

" _Dare she is! That wench be the one that attacked me," he shouted._

"Belinda decided to correct his grammar and teach him manners," Lucien pointed out. "With a dragon."

"It was funny seeing them squirm," Belinda chuckled.

"And if my sense of smell serves me right, some of them pisses their pants," Lucien added.

"It was smooth sailing…until we got to Riften," Dione sighed. "Belinda thought it would be absolutely hilarious to steal Maven Black-Briar's undergarments and hang them from the many lamp posts throughout the city."

Isran groaned. "Why?" he asked.

"Didn't you hear Dione? I thought it would be absolutely hilarious, and it still is," Belinda answered.

"We're not sure if she's still drunk on whatever in the sixteen planes of Oblivion Sanguine gave her," Grete stated. "Or if this is just how she is."

"You only live once," Belinda pointed out.

"Or, in your case, twice," Lucien corrected.

"Hey, my mind, my memories, my life. I won't get another one like it," Belinda snapped.

"It took eight hours of talking to convince Maven that the Thieves Guild was not behind the theft and distribution of her undergarments," Dione pointed out. "It didn't help that everyone in the guildhall kept laughing like the primary school dropouts most of them are."

"After Maven left, we gave the guild free reign to laugh as much as they wanted," Brynjolf added.

"Maven Black-Briar is now the laughing stalk of Riften," Belinda stated, cackling evilly.

"And in conclusion, we arrived just in time to stop that vampire from killing you; you're welcome," Grete finished.

"Did everyone get that?" Sorine asked.

Everyone gave a variation of confirmation.

"Good, because we will not be repeating any of this story again," Belinda responded.

"Wait, I missed something!" someone shouted, making everyone groan…


	17. Chapter 17: Deal with the Devil

_Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 2_ _nd_ _of Evening Star, 4E202_

It would take a few days to prepare everyone to storm Volkihar Castle. There was armor and weapons to forge, growing trolls to tame and train, and people to arm to the tooth, educate on proper battle strategy on vampires. Serena went over with everyone on the layout of the castle. The best place to attack from was blocked of and had no additional threats to deal with once the main castle was dealt with. In the early hours before dawn, Karr went and woke Belinda.

"Hmm?" She opened an eye, looking at him tiredly. She saw he was dressed for a fight. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going back to our homeplane for a couple days," Karr answered. "A friend just showed up and told me Skorn is leading a massive attack and my father needs my help."

"I'm coming with then," Belinda said, getting up.

"I want you to stay here," Karr told her.

"Where I'm 'safer?'" Belinda asked, pulling on her boots and zipping them up. "Dude, I'm no safer here than I am in battle against that douche canoe." Next she zipped up her corset. "And besides, it's been a while since I Planeswalked. Gotta give the old Spark a reason to keep burning, amirite?"

Karr sighed.

"Did you honestly expect her to stay behind?" asked a deep, female voice, making Karr and Belinda turn to the tall, muscular woman in old and worn armor. She had the face and upper body of an Elven woman, though with cow ears and small horns instead of Elven ears. Her lower half was that of a cow, complete with a tail, and her dark red skin matched her fur. She had long, crimson-red hair that were woven into a pair of long, thin braids. Her armor was steel plate, and covered in dents and scratches, with tarnished gold filigree about it and a worn, white tabard trimmed gold, filigree embroidery. Belinda wasn't quite sure she was a Minotaur though.

"Belinda, this is Moriha," Karr introduced. "She's a native of Nirn and a pre-Mending 'walker who served Amanisa."

Moriha came over, hooves clicking on the floor. Lucien walked alongside her. Dione stirred and sat up, looking at the group.

"What in Oblivion…? Am I seeing things right?" she asked.

"Yes," Belinda answered, clipping on her mantle. "We're heading out for a day or two. Something's come up on my homeplane."

"Need me to come with and help?" Dione asked.

"We could use a good archer," Belinda answered.

"And what are we supposed to do?" Serena asked, standing in the doorway. Astral was with her. Looking over, Belinda saw Ralof, Grete, and Brynjolf were still asleep.

"Truthfully? Tell them we went to take care of some unfinished business and we'll be back before they ship out," Belinda answered, buckling her belt on. "Because this business cannot wait."

Serena nodded. "Good luck then." She and Astral sat by the fireplace and read.

* * *

 _Terrestrial…_

Arron looked across the room, feeling a change in the room's energy. Black and white smoke appeared, signaling the arrival of his son. Karr made a cut in the area's reality and slipped through, white hair billowing in the winds left from the Blind Eternities. Gemstone-colored lights signaled the arrival of young Belinda Scale and she emerged from the same cut. Moriha appeared with an array of shimmering white, blue, red, and green sparks followed by Lucien in a haze of teal. Finally, Dione arrived in crimson fire, blue ice, and violet lightning. Arron rose from his seat, large wings loosening up. The sound of something exploding shook the walls around them. Belinda helped keep Karr stable.

"How long has this siege been going on for?" Karr asked, clutching Belinda's arm and shoulder.

"About three days now," Arron answered. He was half a head taller than Karr, with a strong build and more angular features. His white hair was long and flowing, tied back and away from his face with a ribbon of silver and his eyes were a bright silver, the pupils white like milk. Centuries of living in a more northern region had paled his once-olive skin and he wore a shirt of mithril chainmail under steel plate armor. His sword and shield lay on the desk in front of him. "Sorry bastard never learns."

Karr nodded in agreement. "I assume he's been asking for me then?" he asked.

"Naturally; and has been angry with me since I entered his domain to rescue Miss Scale," Arron answered, putting his sword in its sheath. He put his shield on his arm. "Your armor is in your room down the hall." He turned to Belinda. "I strongly recommend you wearing armor as well. I don't think your clothes will be really protective."

"I'll take you to the armory; I know just the thing for you," Moriha said.

Belinda looked to her, brow raised. The half-Minotaur-half-Wood Elven woman led her to the armor where a Human blacksmith worked, her assistants working to keep up and sharpen, forge, and ready weapons and armor for the soldiers. Lucien, naturally, had followed. He would need his armor that was kept in the old manor. The smith looked up from her work.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"My armor for one," Lucien answered.

"And the Dragonspeaker's armor for two," Moriha added.

The smith nodded and went to a wardrobe. She opened a drawer, reveling a steel collar with gold filigree edges and adorned with teal crystals, matching bracers, and a matching cap. Lucien used his levitation magic to clasp each item on and adjusted his teal cloak so that it flowed from clips on the collar. If it was possible, he looked even more regal and majestic than before.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"Like even more of a pretentious ass," Belinda answered.

"You're just jealous that I look soooo good," Lucien responded.

"Arrogant fluff," Belinda snapped.

Moriha chuckled as the smith opened the wardrobe, revealing beautiful, sleeveless scale mail armor that tapered into a point just below the waist and had a high neck. The scales started at a deep purple at the tip before fading to silver. The armor came with matching gauntlets with claws and knee-high boots. Belinda was awe-struck by the set. She got on a black, long-sleeves shirt, black yoga pants, and thick socks before donning the armor. She wrapped her hair into a braided bun with three braids on either side of her head leading to it. She grabbed metal spray paint and painted her Aetherial crown, avoiding the bright Aetherium crystals, before returning the now-silver piece to her head. She reequipped her belt and her mantle.

"You look like a Valkyrie," Arron commented when he saw Belinda.

"Thank you," Belinda responded.

Karr came up, wearing gold and steel plate armor, complete with a helm. He had his scythe sharpened and ready. Dione wore her Nightingale armor. She and Belinda exchanged smiles.

"You look like a badass," Dione commented.

"That's the idea," Belinda responded.

"So, what now?" Dione asked Arron.

"Now, we lead our troops against Skorn," Arron answered, gazing at the hills.

A line of demons and cultists stretched across the horizon, the front line appearing a mile long. Belinda swallowed the rising lump in her throat, hoping that they were just appearing large up front to intimidate. She saw demons and cultists part for Skorn himself, looking ever menacing. Karr didn't need his sight to know Belinda had flinched. He didn't blame her; he flinched also.

"Your ancestor slew Daedra and walked through the Dagon's plane of Oblivion," Lucien pointed out. "You can do this."

Belinda nodded, fidgeting with her right hand. Skorn and Nathiel had cut off her finger not long ago. And so, she was a little apprehensive. "Did she ever fight Mehrunes Dagon?" she asked.

"Well, no," Lucien answered. "She was too busy getting Martin into the Temple of the One."

"This doesn't make me feel better," Belinda muttered.

Skorn approached the barrier that protected the manor, courtyard, gardens, and stables. Most of the animals, servants, and children had retreated to the cellars to hide. Horses were saddled and armored for the battle and their riders mounted. Angels came out in armor with shields and spears. Archers counted their arrows and gunmen counted ammo. Skorn stepped at the edge of the barrier, two lieutenants stepping out from behind him.

"How long will the barrier hold?" Lucien asked.

"Depends how much effort they put into trying to destroy it," Arron answered. He walked to the barrier. Karr, Belinda, Lucien, Dione, and Moriha followed. Skorn wasn't attack yet, which gave a chance to try and deter him. They arrived at the edge, and Skorn growled at them.

"You know what I desire," he sneered.

"A breath mint?" Belinda suggested.

Dione snickered.

Skorn bashed a pincher against the barrier. "The little smartass for starters," he barked. "And Karr."

"Come now, Skorn, we both know how this really ends," Arron pointed out. "I will never hand over my own son and the young lady. That's how it was a thousand years ago, and that's how it is now."

Skorn snarled again. "Then face your doom."

Belinda scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Can you be anymore cliché?" she asked.

"I'll shred you apart," Skorn snapped.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; I'll shred yo mama," Belinda muttered.

"Excuse me?!"

"Bitch, you heard me," Belinda responded as Karr covered his mouth, trying to keep from laughing. Of _course_ Belinda has to make terrible jokes. He heard Belinda walking away. "See ya on the battlefield, Bitch," she shouted, flipping Skorn off. She was still scared, but was just dealing with it with humor. The others followed.

"Archers! Ready your bows!" Arron ordered. "Snipers, to your positions!" The archers poured holy water into their quivers and took a long formation behind soldiers bearing tower shields. Snipers retrieved their ammo and loaded up their guns. Dogs trained for war were brought out, barking. Belinda grabbed a flask of holy water and tossed it to Dione, who emptied it into her quiver. Belinda also had a bow at the ready. That's when a massive, flaming boulder was launched at the barrier. It shattered the barrier and smashed the fountain.

"Well, that was expensive," Belinda commented. She pulled her arrow back as the demon army charged. Belinda sighed and said, "Idiots."

Arrows and bullets were let loose on the enemy. Winged demons flew to attack the angels, who fought back fiercely. The first row of demons were nothing but fodder. They fell easily to the arrows and bullets that had been dipped in holy water, and were then trampled by the demons behind them. Belinda looked to the demons coming now. The dogs would be slaughtered. She looked to Arron.

"Pull the dogs back; they won't survive," she pointed out.

Arron nodded and signaled to keep the dogs in the back as a last resort. The archers and snipers kept firing. Some demons became riddled with arrows and bullets before they finally fell and were trampled. The shield bearers raised spears and soon soldiers took out weapons for melee and short ranged attacks. Belinda switched her bows out her swords. Moriha looked down at them.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Hell no," Belinda answered, "but if we don't deal with Skorn now, it'll be problematic later."

"I know. I'm missing a friend's concert on Harmonia because of Skorn's bullshit," Moriha huffed. "I had to ask a passing Planeswalker to send her the message that I would catch the next concert."

"A concert sounds fun," Belinda commented. "After this battle, would you be willing to help deal with Harkon Volkihar?"

"The one who sacrificed thousands for Molag Bal's favor?" Moriha asked. She grinned. "Count me in. And after that, want to Opal's next concert?"

"Sure! Who's Opal?" Belinda responded.

"Oh, Opal is a talented singer and dancer," Lucien pointed out.

"Here they come," Karr growled. This was the day, the day he ended Skorn once and for all.

Several demons were speared when they broke the ranks. Belinda tapped the magic in her carnelian, and felt pyromancy coursing through her. She brought to her right hand, gripping her sword tight. A large scorpion demon swung it tail, charging for her, green with poison. She charged back, and when the demon lashed its tail at her, she grabbed the stinger with her burning hand and channeled a white-hot blast through it, and the demon knew agony. She shoved her sword through its face. She charged in, setting the robes of several cultists on fire. They dropped, trying to put out the flames. She jumped on the back of a large fire bull, which began to try and buck her off. Thanks to the pyromancy, she was mostly safe from harm. Unless it threw her from its back. She stabbed down, using her sword to maintain a grip on it. Dione gave up with the bow and arrows and made magical bombs out of fire, ice, and lightning. Belinda had guided the bull toward, and its mouth was open wide. Dione threw one of the little bombs into its mouth and Belinda jumped off. The bull exploded, sending Dragonbane flying straight into a winged demon.

"Well, ain't that just a bitch for you," Belinda commented when the demon hit the ground beside her. She pulled her sword out of the ground and got up. A demon was coming up on her when Moriha charged in and sent it flying with a swing of her mallet.

"Damn," Belinda commented. She then turned to see Karr and Lucien surrounded. Karr spun his scythe, cleaving through the demons. Lucien ran out then, eyes glowing teal. Small, sharp stones; arrows, and bullets were levitated off the ground and zipped into several demons, making them fall. Moriha raised her mallet and smashed smaller demons and then jumped between several cultists and spun, slamming her mallet into them. She sent them flying into the remains of the fountain. Arron blocked a knight demon with his shield and thrust his sword into the demon. Knight demons very seldom died easily. Belinda pointed Dione toward them and she got a couple shots in. This turned the fight in Arron's favor, and he put down the demon.

"Okay, where the fuck is that bitchity dickhead Skorn?" Belinda demanded. Her answer came when one of Arron's knights was thrown past her and into a wall. "Well then…"

Skorn pushed past the fighting, stepping into the courtyard. His armor was black and covered in rusty iron spikes. In his human-like hands, he carried a spiked flail and a lance. His pinchers snapped, cutting down his cultists and demons and Arron's knights alike. Karr came over, standing between Skorn and Belinda. Skorn grinned maniacally, making Belinda cringed. She heard the hounds bound past to help fight the demons, and a few pained yelps said that a few didn't make.

"Karr Ivorring," Skorn snarled, approaching. "Surrender!"

"Dude, are you even serious?" Belinda asked, looking around. If there were any cultists left, they could not be seen through the fighting. The Angels were dispatching the last of the flying demons and some had already descended to aid the ground forces. "Your army is losing, and yet you brazenly approach us to demand our surrender? Like, how dumb are you?"

"I'll deal with you yet, girl," Skorn snapped.

"You'll not lay a hand on her!" Karr readied his scythe.

Skorn chuckled. "You and I, Karr." He tossed aside his flail, and Belinda sent a mental message to Lucien about it. The Lynx ran over to take it away. Karr and Skorn circled one another, their weapons at the ready. Skorn tried to sting Karr with his tail, but Lucien reacted with breaking Skorn's tail with his own flail. Skorn roared and attack Karr, who leapt aside and swung his scythe. The tail was then severed. A rancid stench filled the air and Belinda gagged, unaware of the demon coming up until Dione pulled her away. Belinda came away with a cut on her face. She threw her sword at the demon's face and it died. Skorn and Karr still battled, but it was really an unfair fight.

Skorn his two pinches and four sets of legs. Belinda watched him fighting, keeping Karr on the defense and at a distance with the pinchers. Not to mention Skorn moved too fast for Karr to catch him from behind. _"Lucien, knock out a few legs on one side,"_ she called out mentally. Lucien did so, using the flail to break three of Skorn's legs. Skorn roared in pain again as his right side slumped, supported only by his rearmost leg. His upper, humanlike torso slumped at an angle.

"I thought you would play fair, Ivorring!" Skorn snapped.

"Bitch, please!" Belinda responded. "You wouldn't know fair if it bitch-slapped you with a cold, dead fish!" She turned to Lucien. "Knock out another leg!"

Lucien did so, breaking the front left leg. Skorn fell forward, unable to support himself. He snarled. "Fine. I'll play by your little games of fairness." He transformed into a humanoid, ditching the scorpion body. He was still armor-clad and ditched the lance in favor of a sword. Karr switched weapons with Belinda. It had been a while since he wielded a sword, and then the two circled each other. Everyone stopped to watch them.

 _This could take away,_ Belinda thought. Karr was patient. Skorn was not, and he attacked first. Karr block. Karr played defensive to Skorn's fast and hectic movements. All Karr needed was an opening, and he wasn't using his Sight. _Wait!_ Belinda reached out and drew on his magic. Her eyes shone a soft, blue-violet color. Skorn's future movements were so hectic, constantly changing. But they all had to lead to one moment in time that was always consistent, the opening Karr needed. Her eyes hurt. They burned as she used the vision. _I just need an opening,_ she thought. She pushed through the pain until she found the one moment across all outcomes in the next five minutes when he would expose himself and threw the vision into Karr's mind. Belinda gasped, eyes returning to normal. Tears of pain streamed down her face and her vision was blurred at a distance. Dione caught her before she collapsed. And five minutes later…Skorn raised his sword to the upper right, and Karr charged in, running him through. Karr pulled away and then cut Skorn's head off. The demon crumpled to dust…


	18. Chapter 18: Rise in the East

_Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 5_ _th_ _of Evening Star, 4E202_

Isran paced. Everyone was ready to go, even Serena, Astral, Ralof, Grete, and a concerned and worried Brynjolf. They would leave in the foredawn tomorrow. If the others were not back by then, well then they would have to catch up. Isran had conversed with the guards. A tall, imposing warrior had appeared in the night, standing on the powerful legs of a bull, but with a sharply defined face and cow ears. Her red hair was worn in long, twin braids and her eyes were dark and fierce. She had carried a mallet and wore heavy plate armor. She had come, but no one saw her leave. But the next morning, she was gone along with Belinda, Dione, Lucien, and Karr, and no one saw any of them leave either. Isran had asked their friends what they had seen.

"They left the world to go to another," Astral had responded. "They went away to help a friend and tie up a loose end."

It didn't quite make sense to Isran. More insanity in this group. He was beginning to grow used to it. He was to the training room and saw Grete with the improved, Dwarven crossbow. She was shooting targets, getting used to the weapon. Serena was brewing potions along with Dione's mom Karliah. They were going to arm everyone with poisons they knew would affect the vampires they were going to be fighting. Ralof was healing a hunter whom had returned from the field. He had set up a decent med wing in a room of the castle. Grete's mother was busy cooking and feeding the hunters that were breaking for lunch. Dione's ma was working in the forge with Gunmar and Sorine, forging silver weapons and crafting more bows. Dione's mother was taking inventory. Everyone was busy. Mogrul walked up to Isran.

"We'll be ready to depart tomorrow," he reported. "Oriana has arranged for a ship out of Windhelm to carry us to the island where Castle Volkihar is. It's an East Empire Trading Company vessel, and it's already armed. According to Oriana, she's trading favors with an Adelaisa Vendicci. She'll help us attack Castle Volkihar in exchange for help with a pirate problem."

Isran groaned. "Is it the only way?" he asked.

"We need a large ship to carry multiple people and weapons to the castle," Mogrul answered, "and according to Oriana, uncivilized and feral vampires are bad for business."

"Uncivilized and feral vampires, huh? She caters to 'civilized' vampires then?" Isran asked.

"Apparently such vampires make good business," Mogrul answered, looking to Isran. "A lot of her vampiric customers are wealthy and make extravagant orders. Cyrodiilic vampires seem to hold themselves to a higher standard than Skyrim vampires."

"Especially considering how some of us will hide in frozen lakes and reach up to grab unsuspecting wanderers," Serena commented, stepping out of the shadows and looking out of the valley.

"How long were you standing there?" Isran demanded.

"I just came up for fresh air," Serena answered. "Even vampires need to breathe. Well, we don't actually _need_ to breathe. I just prefer to breathe."

"As long as your skin doesn't sparkle in the sun, we're fine," chimed a voice, and they turned to Belinda, who appeared seemingly from nowhere.

"Where in Oblivion did you come from?!" Isran exclaimed, and then noticed the shining, beautiful armor.

"My homeplane," Belinda answered.

"You're from Oblivion?" Mogrul asked.

"Nah; those are just subplanes of this world," Belinda answered. "Anyway, it's complicated and I don't feel like explaining it. Right now, we need to ready ourselves for battle. What's the deal?"

Isran and Mogrul explained the situation, and how Oriana arranged for a ship to take them to Castle Volkihar. Belinda listened, nodding.

"That makes more sense than traipsing across Skyrim, making it obvious that we're coming," she agreed, sitting on the wall. "We have to pass through Riften either way we go, which would already be alarm enough for any vampires spying on us. On land, whether we take the north road or the south, it would take us through Whiterun. Taking the north road would take us past Windhelm. And no doubt we'd have to travel by Solitude if not outright stop there for final preparations. Going by sea is our best option."

"Especially since my father has spies everywhere," Serena added. She turned to Belinda. "You sure you can handle another ship?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine," Belinda answered.

"Where are the others?" Isran asked.

"Inside."

* * *

 _Japhet's Folly, the Sea of Ghosts  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 12_ _th_ _of Evening Star, 4E202_

It took some time to get to Windhelm, transporting supplies and hauling a catapult. Upon arrival, Stormcloak soldiers helped get the catapult down to the East Empire Trading Company vessel. There, they saw Sieghard talking with a tall Cyrodiilic woman. Belinda smiled and went up, greeting the tall Nord.

"What's up, Dad?" Belinda asked.

Sieghard turned to Belinda. "Please tell me you're not with the people going to Japhet's Folly," he groaned.

Belinda turned to the Cyrodiilic. "Is that the source of your problem you ask the Dawnguard for help regarding?" she questioned.

"Yes; I'm Oriana's contact," the Cyrodiilic answered. "I am Adelaisa Vendicci, and this situation may be more serious than we initially thought."

"Why? What's going on?" Isran demanded, coming up.

"And you must be Isran," Adelaisa muttered. "We're dealing with a powerful wizard named Haldyn. He can create dense fogs and storms. He could very well hide Japhet's Folly." She looked at the few men under her command. "We need as much help as we can get, and then we'll take you to Volkihar Island."

"This is all you have?" Isran asked.

"Our numbers were stretched during the war and then…A few vampires got on board as we passed Volkihar Island and killed some of the soldiers and crew," Adelaisa answered.

"So you'd have helped us even if we said no?" Belinda asked.

Adelaisa sighed, and nodded. "Most likely, but we can't let these pirates continue their operations. They're damaging trade here in Skyrim and in Morrowind and Solstheim. Granted a lot of sailors are getting scared of going to Solstheim lately. They say the winds are feeling uneasy there lately. And at night, one sailor woke to find himself in front of one of the ancient stones, along with locals, Reavers, and other sailors."

"Making a note to visit Solstheim soon," Belinda pointed out, taking out a pen and her journal.

They boarded the ship, Sieghard looking to Belinda. "When did you start carrying a journal?" he asked.

"Pretty recently; there's a lot of crap to keep track of," Belinda answered, sitting on a crate. "There's a lot of names to remember and I'm bad at names."

Sieghard nodded, sitting on another crate. "Where did you get the new get-up?" he asked.

"Karr's father kept the armor of Karr's late wife; it fits really well, like it was made for me," Belinda answered. "Though technically, it was. It's in amazing condition. Magic may very well have gone into preserving the armor."

They sailed for a day, knowing where Japhet's Folly was. They saw the island as they approached, but then a dense fog shrouded the island and the ship. Adelaisa shouted for the anchor to drop. Belinda could barely see her hand at arm's length and shivered. She conjured some magic to hand to show where she was. Sieghard stood close to her; Dione and Adelaisa came over.

"We can't do anything with this fog and these lunks are too afraid to face Haldyn," the latter woman explained.

Belinda looked over the side of the ship and saw blocks of ice below. "If we use the ice, we could reach the island…Someone get me a compass and a map," she ordered. A man did so and Belinda was able to figure where to go. "Okay, we can do this. Sieghard, Serena, and Dione, on me." She jumped over the side of the ship and onto a block of ice. Sieghard sighed and followed. Dione and Serena deftly did the same. Belinda was able to guide them to Japhet's Folly where they tried the gates, quietly.

"No use," Dione whispered. She had slipped a dagger between the doors and tried to lift the bar holding the gate close. "There must be a lock on the bar." She climbed on Sieghard, startling him briefly, to look over the gate. She then dropped down and added, "I don't think we want to go through the front door anyway. Place is crawling with pirates."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Belinda hissed, looking around. "Maybe there's a secret cave or something somewhere on the island." They searched around the narrow and icy shores of the island, eventually finding a cave. They slipped into a cold, dark, wet cave with Mudcrabs scurrying about. Sieghard dispatched them quietly. Belinda collected the legs for dinner. _Always thinking with my stomach, I am,_ she thought.

A Blood Horker pirate was guarding the store room, which had a big hole in the side that the cave led into. Dione disposed of her with an arrow to the back. They went from the old storage to the towers proper when Belinda asked, "So, does this place have a story?"

"It was originally a place deemed uninhabitable due to constant foul weather and ghosts," Serena answered. "Someone named Japhet got the bright idea to build a settlement here and it was, needless to say, unsuccessful. People started coming back and ships stopped coming. No one knows what happened to Japhet."

"Nine out of ten we find his rotting corpse," Belinda groaned.

They made their way up one tower, Dione taking care of two pirates as one patrolled the staircase and the other as she was looking through a wardrobe. They turned down a corridor that led them to a taller tower, stopping to test a locked door that led outside along the way, killed one more pirate, and saw there was a staircase leading up and another leading down.

"Haldyn is likely at the top of the tower," Belinda commented. "Serena, you and me will go up."

"And Sieghard and I will take the stairs down," Dione finished.

"Hold up, why?" Sieghard asked.

"Because we're warriors and Dione and Serena are better at ranged combat," Belinda answered. "Because if someone doesn't go downstairs, we could miss out on some serious loot?"

"Smartass," Sieghard grumbled.

"You know it."

While Belinda and Serena went through the doorway up, Sieghard followed Dione downstairs. Dione slipped on a step and alerted the pirates ahead. An Orc and a Nord stood, drawing their weapons. Dione jumped up, drawing her saber, and Sieghard drew his battle axe Wuuthrad. He turned to her and said, "I'll take the Orc."

Dione nodded and ducked down to avoid the swing of the Nord's double axes. He tried to bring them down on her, but she rolled to the side and stabbed upward, getting him in the back. The Nord shouted in pain and pulled away, spinning to try and cut her down. She jumped back again and pulled a knife from her boot. She flung it at him and got him in the throat. The man fell forward. Sieghard was letting the Orc swing his great sword at him. He blocked swiftly with the pole of Wuuthrad, which held strong against the clearly weaker weapon. Sieghard was faster and a werewolf. He had plenty of energy and was getting the orc to slow down. Several blows later, the Orc was panting for breath, and that's when Sieghard swung his axe and cut down the Orc. Dione came up to Sieghard.

"Took you long enough," she commented.

"I'm trying different fighting styles," Sieghard pointed out, heaving Wuuthrad onto his shoulder. "Let's see what's ahead, shall we?"

Dione nodded and collected her bow before following Sieghard further down the tower. They came upon a bit of a store room where she collected the various items. Sieghard tried the door. It was locked. Dione went over and examined the lock. She took out her lockpicks and worked the lock. The door swung open to a room empty save for a table, chair, cobwebs, and the mummified remains of Japhet himself.

"Oh, charming," Dione joked. She went to the table and picked up the leather-bound, dust-covered journal. She blew the dust off, and then jumped in alarm when she heard the whoosh of Wuuthrad, the sound of chopping wood, and the clang of metal on stone. She had yelped and turned to see Sieghard had chopped Japhet's head off. "What did you do that for?!" she demanded.

"Haldyn is a power battlemage," Sieghard answered, lifting Wuuthrad back, "so who's to say he hasn't already put magic in this thing?"

Dione huffed before turning her attention back to the journal. She read it out loud, with the final page reading: _"OH GODS HELP ME"_ This got Dione to say, "Yeeeeeyaaah, maybe we should leave." She closed the journal and set it back down.

Meanwhile, half-way up the first flight of stairs, Belinda and Serena heard the sound of metal scraping on metal as bars blocked their way back down. Serena ran back to confirm it and groaned. Nothing to do about it at the moment, and the two continued up and into Haldyn's quarters. They saw him with magic at the ready for an attack, pacing his quarters angrily, searching for intruders. Clearly no one was allowed in his private quarters. Belinda drew her sword and readied a fire spell and Serena readied her ice magic. They jumped up, blasting Haldyn with fire and ice. Haldyn managed to get a shield spell up in time to block the attack.

Belinda ran around and attacked with her sword, but Haldyn flung a spell at her to knock her away. She twisted in the air to land on her feet. Adelaisa was not kidding when she had warned Haldyn was crazy-powerful. He then attacked Serena with lightning spells to sap her of her magic. Belinda charged again, only to be met with a shield spell yet again and the shield was slammed into her. She was knocked back again. She looked up, seeing he was maintaining three spells once! Was he like Dione? No, none of the spells were fusing. He was chanting the shield spell, which had openings so he could attack with his lightning spells and he was putting trap runes down. This was a _bad_ situation! One false move and this would set off a chain reaction that could leave Belinda and Serena seriously injured if not dead. And Haldyn would be safe behind a bubble. This guy was powerful, but he was relying on openings in his shield to cast his spells, and the largest was on top.

Belinda rolled back onto her feet and ran for the nearest bookcase. She climbed on top and then, with Serena on the ground dazed, Haldyn threw his attention to Belinda. He tried attacking her with lightning, but she was naturally fast and leapt for one of the chandeliers. She swung on it, and then saw Haldyn focus his shield so that his back was exposed to Serena. Belinda was swinging back and forth on the chandelier, keeping Haldyn's attention off Serena, who was slowly getting back up. She saw the opening and conjured a spear of ice, launching it into Haldyn's back. The mage roared in pain and turned his attention and shield back to Serena. He had a powerful lightning spell just for her and that's when Belinda jumped him, impaling him from behind. Haldyn gasped once, and fell forward.

"Well, that was annoying," Belinda commented. She started cleaning off her blade.

"Yeah," Serena agreed, gasping.

Belinda slipped Dragonbane back into its sheath and helped Serena stand. They got the key for the door out and rejoined Sieghard and Dione downstairs.

"Is he dealt with then?" Dione asked, and as she asked, the ground shook and they heard something large and made of stone collapse.

"Yeah, and it looks like the way back out is, well, out…" Belinda responded. She then took out the key. "But we got this. And it looks like the door in the hall has been blocked."

Sieghard nodded and took the key. There was another explosion, likely from the tower they came from. He unlocked the door to see fire everywhere and pirates scurrying about. The group drew their weapons and readied their spells, fighting their way out and to the ship…

* * *

 _The Sea of Ghosts  
Nirn  
The 15_ _th_ _of Evening Star, 4E202_

"So, have you made your peace with all of this yet?" Belinda asked, sharpening her sword. She looked up at Serena, who was reading a book.

Serena sighed. "As much as possible," she answered. "I've accepted that he's not my father anymore. In fact, I'm not sure he ever was. He's just a man who is obsessed with some insane prophecy written by an angry Snow Elf."

"Serena, even with what he's become, there might be a part of him that still loves you," Belinda pointed out, "even if he is a dickhead."

Serena smiled. "You're awful."

"YEP!"


	19. Chapter 19: Assault on Castle Volkihar

_Castle Volkihar  
The Sea of Ghosts, Nirn  
The 20_ _th_ _of Evening Star, 4E202_

It was at Dawnstar that Belinda called Zephyr from across the Multiverse. He arrived in a small twister, this time dressed a little more appropriately for Skyrim. He gave a smile.

"Hello gorgeous," he greeted.

"Would you stop with the fake accent?" Belinda asked.

"Sorry," Zephyr answered, sheepishly grinning. "So, what do you need?"

"Coverage." She pointed to Castle Volkihar in the distance. "Vampires can see in the dark, but they still can't see through thick fog. We need to be able to see. Can you make it happen?"

Zephyr looked ahead. "Totally." He removed his compass and handed it to Belinda. "This compass will point in the direction of your objective. Watch the needle until it points directly north. We'll be in front of the castle."

Belinda nodded and went to the helm. She set the compass down, the elegant N pointing north. She held the steering wheel, for forward while the needle slowly hit the N. Meanwhile, Zephyr's eyelids slid shut as he drew on the mana around him. Fog descended on the sea around them, shrouding them and Castle Volkihar. Belinda managed to keep a steady path, often looking down at the compass to make sure they were getting closer. Soon, the needle was over the N and she ordered the anchor to be dropped.

"Alright, load the catapults!" Isran shouted.

Everyone got the catapults in position and loaded them up with flaming stones. Belinda shouted, "CLEAR!"

Zephyr released his hold on the fog, dispersing it and the catapults were released. The burning stones were launched at the castle. The collapsed a tower and punched a hole in the ceiling, taking out a vampire and a gargoyle. Of course, that roused the other gargoyles, breaking free of their stone shells and taking flight. They came soaring toward the ship, so Zephyr summoned thin twisters. He caught a few of the gargoyles. The rest came in. The Dawnguard met them with crossbows. They shot most out of the sky, but enough landed on the deck and took out a couple soldiers. Belinda jumped down and pulled on pyromancy from her carnelian. She blasted one with fire until exploded.

Ice surrounded the ship. Isran looked over the side and saw vampires burst from the ice. One raked their nails across his arm, leaving thin cuts. He shot them with a crossbow bolt to the throat. He reloaded the crossbow just as the landed, ripping the bolt out. He shot them again, this time in the heart. The vampire lunged at him, so Isran threw down the crossbow and drew a silver sword, cutting the vampire in two.

Dione and Karliah were fast, moving easily through the vampires and gargoyles. They fired arrows faster than the Dawnguard hunters. Dione threw a bomb of ice and fire at a gargoyle coming up behind Karliah and it exploded. On the island, vampires were coming out with the Death Hounds. After the deck was cleared, the catapults were reloaded and the archers fired at the vampires and hounds to ensure the others could make it to the shore. Belinda, Serena, Sieghard, Karr, and Lucien hopped onto a small boat and went ashore. Lucien leapt onto the ground and jumped on a hound. Karr charged and jumped, spinning and cutting through three vampires with his scythe.

"That was impressive," Sieghard commented, cutting down a Dark Elven vampire with Wuuthrad.

"Thank you. The scythe is a tricky weapon to master," Karr responded, and spun, scythe cutting through another vampire. He stopped, blade touching the ground. Belinda jumped onto the blade and he launched at a flying gargoyle. She stabbed through it, diving it toward a group of vampires while turning it into an explosive ball of fire. She stumbled away, dizzy.

"Okay. Don't do that often…" She collapsed. Sieghard went and picked her up.

"Please," he told her.

Isran, Dione, Karliah, Brynjolf, and a few others from the Dawnguard arrived on the next boat. A third carried some soldiers.

"What was that?" Dione asked.

"Me having a bad idea and using Karr's weapon and strength to execute it," Belinda answered.

"Well it worked," Isran said. "Now let's get in there."

Of course the door was barred and preventing entry. A battering ram was brought to try and break it down. Once inside, vampires, hounds, and gargoyles were attacking. Serena raised a body from one of the tables, and the undead grabbed a knife. She attacked with ice spears and lightning. Karr launched Belinda at a chandelier, where she used pyromancy to break the chain. She then jumped to a banner while the chandelier fell on two vampires.

"I always wanted to do that," she giggled, and ripped the banner to land carefully. Serena went to her and pointed. They both saw Serena's father enter a room the castle's private chapel. The two followed. However, once inside, the door sealed behind them. Harkon stood in front of them, more like hovered, and sneered. He was in his in his terrifying more beast-like form.

"Still keeping your pet, I see," he greeted coldly. He saw the bow in Belinda's hand and grinned. "And you've brought the bow."

"Not for you," Belinda growled.

Harkon chuckled, and turned to see Serena draw her knife.

"We're here to stop you father," she pointed out, "and end this stupid, stupid, _stupid_ prophecy once and for all."

"I knew this day would come, when you would return to me with venom in your voice and your mother's influence. How alike you two have become," Harkon snarled.

"Oh, that's a load of cock and bull," Belinda commented.

"Because unlike her, I'm not afraid of you anymore," Serena added.

"And what of you?" Harkon asked, turning to Belinda. "Why are you here?"

"Simple: I enjoy killing your kind," Belinda answered.

"I see. So does that mean Valerica is next? Or maybe Serena?"

"Perhaps you misunderstand. When I say _your kind_ , I mean heartless dickheads who willingly maim, rape, or kill people for their own personal gain."

"What about your little thief friends?"

"They don't intentionally main, rape, or kill. They're just thieves. And a good thief never hurts anyone except their wallet, and coin and treasure can be replaced." Belinda notched a Sunhollowed arrow to Auriel's Bow. "And if you want this bow, you'll have to pry it from our cold, dead fingers."

"SO BE IT!" Harkon attacked, calling on the skeletons and gargoyles from around the room.

Belinda fended off a few skeletons. They were weak and little more than distractions. Serena managed to take control of them to fight off one of the Gargoyles so Belinda could attack the other. Harkon was zipping around scratching Belinda and Serena. Once Belinda felled the Gargoyle she fought Serena took control of it to help finish off the one her skeletons had died fighting. Once again, she took control of the corpse to fight an incoming wave of skeletons. Belinda was able to focus on Harkon as he flew and sped all over the room.

"Okay, _fuck_ this!" she hissed, and drew a deep breath. "Tiid-KLO-UL!" Time slowed to a near halt. It would be quite some time before she could Shout again, as this was one of a few Shouts that actually drained her. Then again, she _was_ commanding time to obey her will, and since time was now almost still, she could see Harkon. He was coming toward her at normal speed, like the Shout was actually affecting him. But it was, since he was a Vampire moving impossibly fast. She charged him, and left a deep gash across his chest.

He retaliated by swiping at her and missing by several inches as she jumped back. She came at him again, and time sped up. She managed to cut off half of his left wing. She saw him stumble after zipping forward. He howled in pain and burst into bats. The swarm flittered over the bloody shrine of Molag Bal. He reformed, hovering clumsily over the shrine.

"How?!" he snarled, a barrier forming around him. The blood from the shrine was fueling the barrier.

Belinda withdrew her sword and pulled out Auriel's Bow. She aimed it at him. "Because I'm a motherfucking Dragonborn, Bitch," she answered, letting loose the Sunhollow arrow. It broke through the shield and struck Harkon in the stomach. Now of course it was a petty wound to him, but it also exploded, dealing more harm and destroying the skeletons he was raising to fight them.

Two more Gargoyles burst to life on Belinda's and Serena's right. Serena turn to them, commanding her Gargoyles to attack. Belinda was glad she was so skilled a Necromancer, something she thought she would never be grateful for in her life. Serena was able to command two Gargoyles while attacking with her own ice and lightning spells. Belinda was allowed to focus on Harkon. Despite missing half a wing, he was quite mobile and made it difficult for her to land a blow.

"What? Can't do it again?" he taunted.

Belinda rolled her eyes. "You know, you're really an insufferable cockbite," she snapped, swinging Dragonbane at him and leaving another little cut.

"Such a filthy mouth," Harkon sneered, swiping at her lower back.

"And I suppose that makes you a cunty little coward," Belinda responded, spinning to cut him again, and he caught her sword in his hand. He hissed, finally realizing a part of the blade was silver.

"Will you be wagging that jaw of yours while I'm biting it off?" Harkon asked.

"Holy shit, have you seen 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'?" Belinda exclaimed.

"What?"

"Oh right, you're an uncultured swine!" Belinda yanked her sword to the side, cutting off Harkon's fingers and making him scream in agony.

"HARLOT!" he roared.

"Seriously? Stop being such a little bitch!" She kicked him in the side. Hard, making him stumble.

Before he could burst into bats again though, Serena flung her dagger into his back. He spun swiftly, back-handing her hard. She went flying into a wall before bursting into bats and reforming over the shrine. Serena's dagger clattered to the ground as her first two Gargoyles crumbled to dust. Belinda was on her own now, and she was going to lose. Unless…

 _I can't do this alone,_ she thought bitterly. She liked Serena. For a Necromancer and a Vampire, Serena was still kind and had a fun sense of humor. Belinda reached for Serena's power of Necromancy and…Healing? Belinda wasn't surprised. Most powerful Necromancers and Blood Mages were exceptional healers. She drew on the healing magic and mended her cuts while dark magic surged through her, making her eyes glow a sinister reddish-violet. As two Gargoyles burst to life on her right, she rose the other two that initially from her left and five skeletons. She even reached across the Blind Eternities for a few extra Undead and brought them in. Her few Undead minions attacked the Gargoyles and skeletons Harkon controlled. Harkon watched in horror. He was quite a pitiful, basic Necromancer while Serena was truly a master of her magic.

"How?!" he snarled as Belinda readied another arrow.

"I can speak life a Dragon, but that is merely in my blood," Belinda answered, aiming for him. "I'm also a mage. So fuck you." She loosed the arrow, missing Harkon's heart, but seriously injuring him.

Harkon bellowed in rage and charged right at her. He raised the claws of his good hand. Belinda, eyes still glowing, charged. She cut him deeply, nearly cutting him in half. But he managed to scratch the side of her neck. The cuts weren't deep, but she still bled. Harkon turned toward her weakly, black blood spewing from the wound and gore hanging out. Belinda saw this and gagged. Out the corner of her eyes, she saw movement, and then Serena was on Harkon's back, toppling him and plunging her dagger into his chest multiple times before he burst into bats and reformed in front of the shrine, reaching the blood to heal him. He would have healed himself when…

Karr burst through the window, wrangling with a Gargoyle. They smashed into the shrine, making Harkon cry out in dismay. Belinda readied on last arrow and fired. This time, she struck the heart. Harkon howled in pain, literally falling apart. His skin charred and blackened before burning away.

"Why Serena? Your own father!" he cried.

"You stopped being my father a long time ago," Serena responded, lips blackened where Harkon had struck her as black blood drizzled down her chin.

Harkon fell to his knees, now a burning skeleton, and then he was blood-red dust, ragged clothes, and fine jewelry on the floor. Karr stood at the Gargoyle he had been fighting with ceased movement. Belinda's eyes returned to normal and her undead minions turned to dust behind her. The seal on the door shattered, allowing for Isran and a few others to enter.

"So it's done then?" he asked.

"Yeah," Belinda answered.

He nodded and then looked to Serena. "Are you okay about this? He was your father."

Serena sighed. "I think my father died a long time ago. This was just the end of something else."

Isran nodded again and said no more.

"I'm…I'm going to go tell my mother it's safe," Serena sighed, and left the room. She needed a little time to herself, not that anyone blamed her.

Belinda looked to the dust, and then felt Karr put an arm around her. "We should go clean this place up and help the slaves," he pointed out.

She smiled and nodded and they went to work…


	20. Chapter 20: Calm Before the Storm

_St. Victoria, the Harmonia Queendom  
Harmonia  
The 26_ _th_ _of Evening Star, 4E202_

Belinda needed a break from being on Nirn so much, and Moriha had invited her to join her for a concert on Harmonia. So here she was, dressed in short, lilac, empire-waisted dress with short, puffy sleeves and a black silk ribbon just under the bust; a long, floor-length black vest lined with silver embroidery and buttoned just below the bust with a beautiful, gem-encrusted star brooch; a pair of black boots with steel toes and heels, a black silk choker with a star-cut amethyst, and long, black, fingerless gloves so she could show off her dark purple nails. Her hair was in a beautiful, curly and braided bun and she had clip-on earrings. She looked in the mirror and knew she looked good tonight. To her, the scars made her more beautiful.

A knock on the door drew her attention. "Come in," she responded.

Dione entered, dressed in a more form-fitting Regency-styled the color of night and covered in sparkles. It had no sleeves, but she had on long gloves. Her short hair had been curled and looked fancy. As for shoes: It was a pair of simple white heels.

"You look beautiful," Belinda complimented.

"So do you," Dione responded.

The elegantly carved door opened again, and in walked a Planeswalker far older than her. The woman looked almost delicate and unnatural, with pale, silver skin and a thin, but gently curved figure. Her features were sharp and pointed ears long, a common trait of most elves, but her eyes were round and a bit large, irises a beautiful, dark blue with bright blue around the pupils. She wore her long, flowing, moon-white hair in a bun decorated with clips of gold adorned with black, white, and pink diamonds. Her jewelry all matched and went well with her pink dress and shoes.

"You two look lovely," she complimented.

"Thank you, Opal," Belinda responded. "And thank you for having us."

The Elf, Opal, nodded. Belinda had never seen an Innistradi Elf before, as they were nearly extinct. There were Planeswalkers here and there, as far as Belinda had heard. But this Innistradi Moon Elf had moved the survivors of her people to Harmonia to save them from the Vampires. Now it was the descendants of the original Moon Elves who were brought here.

"Well, the limo will be here soon," Opal reported. She made gesture and an insect-looking faerie fluttered in and perched on the Elf's shoulder. She had a mini turntable on her lap, with five tiny records in white, blue, black, red, and green.

"So this is DJ'walker, I take it?" Belinda asked.

The Elf nodded. "Yes. And she was wondering if you have any songs to share with us for tonight's show. Sorry, it's just how she is."

"I think I might have a couple," Belinda answered.

* * *

 _Whiterun, Whiterun Hold  
Skyrim, Nirn  
The 31_ _st_ _of Evening Star, 4E202_

The concert had been fun and wonderful, with Opal singing some amazing songs, including a wonderful one about loving life and the song she and DJ'walker had received from Belinda. She started humming it, seeing Dragons soar over the snow-buried plains of Whiterun Hold. She was sitting on the wall behind Jorrvaskr, holding a mug of warm, spiced cider. She sipped it, smiling. Dione came and sat beside her.

"You know what we completely forgot about on the 15th?" she asked.

"Um…Okay, lemme think; I know this one!" Belinda answered.

Sieghard sat with them. Then Lucien. The two chuckled.

"I know! I swear!" Belinda exclaimed.

"The anniversary of the day we kicked Alduin's ass," Dione finally said.

"Oh. Has it really been a year?" Belinda asked.

"Yes; and a lot has happened in that year," Dione answered. "You helped the Stormcloaks win a war and liberate Skyrim, hatched a baby dragon, and found Auriel's Bow."

Spyro scrambled over and up onto Belinda's shoulder. He nuzzled her. Belinda smiled and scratched under his chin. "I'm just glad he was safe and out of danger for this adventure."

Astral came out. "Serena is back! And she's different!"

The four exchanged glances. They followed Astral inside where everyone was drinking, telling stories, and being merry. Ralof, Grete, Brynjolf, and Karr were in front of Serena. They then moved aside, revealing a very alive, very non-Vampire Serena. Belinda blinked in surprised.

"You-you're Human?!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Serena asked.

"No, just surprised. Especially with all the shit you went through," Belinda answered.

Serena nodded. "True. But then I think about what it did to my family and wondered if it was worth it. I mean, I'll miss the immortality but, I think I have a good century left in me, since I found quite a few things worth being mortal for." She smiled to them. "You wonderful, dangerous, psychopaths."

Belinda grinned. "That's us!"

Serena giggled as Farkas walked over.

"Hey, now that you smell less like death, would you like to dance?" Farkas asked. Behind him, Vilkas groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead.

"That is the worst pickup line I have ever heard. Ever. Of all time," Belinda groaned.

"I'd love to dance," Serena answered, putting her small hand in Farkas's large one.

As they went to dance, Belinda plopped on a bench. Karr looked to her as the others went off to join in the festivities. He then sat beside her, the pair watching as Dione stood on a table to regale everyone with the tale of how Belinda defeated Alduin. She leaned against him, smiling.

"It's not over, you know," she told him. "Something else is coming. I can just feel it…"

Karr looked ahead. "It looks peaceful for now," he pointed out.

"Do not look at the future. Show me the present."

Karr nodded and did and Belinda saw it again. A hideous realm with a sky of eldritch abominations, a sea of ink, and towers of books. Among them stood a robed man and three Dragons, plotting something. Belinda was pulled from the vision.

"What is that place?" she wondered.

"A plane of Oblivion," Karr answered. "I think it is Apocrypha."

"So Hermaeus Mora is up to something then," Belinda muttered. "Well, I guess we better get ready for whatever it is he's up too then. But that man, who is he?

"That I cannot answer."

"Then it's important I get stronger."

"Indeed. But for tonight, let's just enjoy life." He took her hand and led her out to dance…


End file.
